Vhenan'ara
by StarFangWolf
Summary: Two lives on opposite ends of the spectrum. Can either achieve their heart's desire, while still combatting the Blight? Rated M for violence, possible language, and lemons later on. Yuri. If you don't like any of that, then don't read. If you do read, then don't complain if you get offended. It'll be your fault.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fanfic. It will span the entire game of Dragon Age Origins, and features all three female elven Wardens. This will be a yuri fic, so if that bothers you, then don't read this. There will also be lemons later on, so if you're under eighteen, beware._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age. If I did, Tallis would've been a permanent romanceable companion, and Dragon Age 3 would be out by now._

_There, I think that about covers my hind-end. The first few chapters will be the origins for my Wardens. Enjoy, I hope._

* * *

It was around midnight when they brought her to the top of the tower. After so long, it was finally time for her Harrowing. Avarielle Surana looked around the chamber in awe, as it was the first time she'd ever been up here. The ceiling was high, and there were large stained windows all around the walls. There were templars standing in a circle around the center, with First Enchanter Irving, Knight-Commander Greagoir, and a pedestal filled with a glowing blue liquid in the center. The templars stood aside to allow her into the circle, and then closed around her, becoming a veritable wall of steel.

"Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him," Greagoir said as he approached her. "Thus spoke the prophet Andraste when she cast down the Tevinter Imperium, once ruled by mages who brought the world to the edge of ruin." Greagoir stopped just in front of Avarielle and looked down at her. As she was an elf, she was at least a foot shorter than him, if not slightly more. She had to look up in order to see into his face. His hair was short and graying, as was his trimmed beard. He was donned in the armor of the Knight-Commander, though he forewent the use of his helmet. "Your magic is a gift," he continued, "but it is also a curse. Demons of the dream realm, the Fade, are drawn to you, and seek to use you as a gateway into this world."

"This is why the Harrowing exists," Irving said as he stepped to Avarielle's other side. His hair and long beard were also graying, though slightly more so. He wore the robes of the First Enchanter, and the wrinkles around his gold eyes gave him a sage-like look. "The ritual sends you into the Fade, and there you will face a demon, armed with only your will."

"I am ready," Avarielle said confidently. This was what she had been waiting for.

"Know this, Avarielle," Greagoir said warningly, "if you fail, we templars will perform our duty, and you will die." This caused Avarielle to be slightly nervous. Greagoir then gestured to the pedestal in the center of the room. "This is lyrium, the very essence of magic, and your gateway into the Fade."

"The Harrowing is a secret out of necessity, child," Irving said, placing an encouraging hand on Avarielle's shoulder and leading her a few steps to the side. "Every mage must go through this trial by fire. As we succeeded, so shall you." Irving the leaned in closer and began to mutter in her ear. "Keep your wits about you, and remember; the Fade is a realm of dreams. The spirits may rule it, but your own will is real." Avarielle nodded as she took all of this in.

"The apprentice must go through this test _alone_, First Enchanter," Greagoir said in an annoyed manner, having clearly heard everything Irving said. He then gestured again to the lyrium, giving Avarielle an encouraging nod. "You _are_ ready," he assured her.

Avarielle nodded in return and approached the lyrium, her anxiety growing with each step. When she reached the pedestal, she looked down into the lyrium at her own reflection. Her long black hair was down, as she left it whenever she slept. She could see the nervousness in her jade eyes, framed by the blue tattoos that adorned her face. Avarielle reached out nervously and touched the lyrium. The moment it touched her skin, energy filled her hand and ran up her body. The power from the lyrium filled her until she felt like she would explode, and then, in a flash of light, everything went dark.

* * *

Avarielle opened her eyes to a sickly yellow-green sky. There seemed to be light around her, but with no discernable source. She rose to her feet and looked around. Everything seemed to have the same greenish-yellow tint as the sky, and she was on what appeared to be a floating island. Avarielle walked to the edge and peered down into the abyss, and seeing no end to it, nor did there seem to be any end in any other direction. And off into the distance, almost out of Avarielle's sight, with its dark gates and towers, was the Black City, the former seat of the Maker.

"So this is the Fade?" Avarielle said to herself. She had read about it in books, heard it described by the senior mages, but she had never seen it for herself.

"Someone else thrown to the wolves, as fresh and unprepared as ever," a voice said behind her. Avarielle jumped and turned around to see who it was, but there was no one there. "Down here!" Avarielle looked down to see…a mouse? "It isn't right that they do this, the templars. Not to you, me, anyone."

"You're…a mouse," Avarielle said, feeling dumbfounded. Mice weren't supposed to talk, at least not to her knowledge.

"What, do you really think you look the way you do? In the Fade, nothing is what it seems. Let me show you," In a flash of light, the mouse was gone, and a man with short brown hair and green eyes stood in front of her, wearing red mage robes. "See? Allow me to welcome you to the Fade. You can call me…well, Mouse."

"Not your real name, I take it?" Avarielle asked, noticing the way he hesitated when he told her.

"No," Mouse said. "I don't remember anything from…before. The templars kill you if you take too long, you see. They figure you failed, and they don't want something getting out. That's what they did to me, I think," Mouse put a hand over his face. "I have no body to reclaim, and you don't have much time before you end up the same!"

"How long do I have, exactly?" Avarielle asked, feeling worried. Killing the apprentices for taking too long? She could scarcely believe it.

"I…I don't remember," Mouse said. "I ran away and I hid. I don't know how long." So not only would she be killed if she took too long, now Avarielle didn't even know how long she had.

"What am I supposed to do?" Avarielle remembered fully what Irving told her, but perhaps Mouse would be able to tell her something more.

"There's something here, contained, just for an apprentice like you," he said. "You have to face the creature, a demon, and resist it, if you can. _That's_ your way out, or your opponent's, if the templars wouldn't kill you." He then scoffed. "A test for you, a tease for the creatures of the Fade." So, that was her task? To defeat a demon? Avarielle shook her head.

"Anything can die. I doubt it's as simple as that," she said skeptically.

"You would be a fool to just attack everything you see," Mouse informed her. "What you face is powerful, cunning," He raised a finger to his chin in thought. "There are…others here, other spirits. They may be able to help you, if you can believe anything you see. I will follow, if that's alright. My chance was long ago, but you, you may have a way out."

"You may accompany me, if you wish," Avarielle said. Mouse smiled and transformed back into a mouse. Avarielle then looked around her. There didn't seem to be any path to take. "How do we get away from here?"

"This is the Fade. Your will rules here," Mouse said. "Imagine a stone pathway appearing before you, perhaps to that other island, over there." Avarielle looked to see which one Mouse was talking about, and saw a large one that was close to them, but higher up. Avarielle took a deep breath and focused her will. Within a matter of moments a stone walkway materialized in front of her, stretching towards the other island. "That's it, you've got it!"

Avarielle felt proud of herself for having accomplished such a feat on her first try. She crossed the stone walkway to the other side, with Mouse scampering along behind her. When they reached the other island, there was a large ring of low flames burned into the ground off to the right. To the left was a pathway leading through a forest.

"This is where you will be tested," Mouse said, taking a few steps towards the ring of fire to indicate what he was talking about. "The demon isn't here right now, but it can come back at any moment," Mouse then turned towards the pathway. "There is a spirit down that way. I've always thought he fell short of his name, but he might be able to help you."

"Alright, let's go see him," Avarielle said.

"Um, I'll just stay here. That guy scares me," Mouse said, cringing, his ears flat against his head. "In fact, I think I'll go hide somewhere, just in case the demon comes back."

"Okay, be safe," Avarielle said as Mouse scampered into a hole in the ground. She then steeled herself as she made her way down the pathway through the woods. She came out into an open field full of lush grass. There was a tree in the distance, and she could see someone swinging a sword within it's shade. There also seemed to be other objects in the air around him. Avarielle figured that this must be the spirit Mouse spoke of and began making her way over to him. The spirit must've noticed her approach, because he stopped swinging his sword. As Avarielle got closer, she could see that the spirit was wearing heavy plate armor with a helmet, and that he had a shield along with his sword. Also, she could see that the objects floating around him were weapons of every shape and size.

"Another mortal thrown into the flames and left to burn, I see," The spirit's voice was deep, and seemed to echo all around Avarielle. "Your mages have devised a cowardly test. Better you were pitted against each other to prove your mettle with skill, than to be sent unarmed against a demon."

"Fight each other?" Avarielle said, astounded at what the spirit suggested. "We're not warriors!"

"They would have you battle a demon," the spirit proclaimed. "With magic or weapon, to be the victor would make you a warrior still. That you remain means that you have not yet defeated your hunter. I wish you a glorious battle to come."

"What kind of spirit are you?" Avarielle asked. This spirit didn't seem like anything Avarielle had ever read about.

"I am Valor, a warrior spirit," the spirit, now known as Valor, said. "I hone my weapons in search of the perfect expression of combat."

"Will you help me, Valor?" Avarielle asked.

"I am not here to assist you, mortal," Valor said, much to Avarielle's disappointment. "My purpose is to seek perfection, creating the ultimate weapon in the pursuit of valor." So Valor would not help her? Avarielle looked at all the weapons around them, and saw that there were staffs among them. This gave Avarielle an idea; if Valor wouldn't help her directly, then perhaps he could help her _in_directly?

"Would one of these weapons affect the demon?" Avarielle asked, pretending to be curious about them.

"Without a doubt! In this realm, everything that exists is the expression of a thought," Valor said. He then gestured to the weapons floating around. "Do you think these blades be steel? These staves be wood? Do you believe they draw blood? A weapon is a single need for battle, and my will makes that need reality," Valor then turned to her with a look that even through his helmet said that he wasn't fooled by Avarielle's act, and knew exactly what it was she wanted. "Do you truly desire one of my weapons?"

"Yes, please," Avarielle said, deciding that honesty was the best policy at this point.

"Very well, I will give one to you," Valor put away his sword and raised his hand. A staff floated down and into his hand. It was made of ivory dragon bone with carvings of leaves and vines along the shaft. At the head of the staff was a pair of wing-like structures and a leaf-shaped malachite as the focus. Avarielle was amazed at the beauty of the staff, and how even in it's beauty it resembled a spear. Valor held the staff out to Avarielle. "You may have this staff, _if_ you agree to duel me first. Valor shall test your mettle, as it should be tested."

Avarielle hesitated. A staff of even half the craftsmanship of the one being offered her would be of great use against the demon she'd have to face, but could she hold her own against Valor? He was a spirit, and not a demon, so surely he could be trusted to fight fairly, but would that be enough? Avarielle would just have to take that chance. She reached out and took hold of the staff.

"I agree to your duel, Valor," Avarielle said determinedly. Valor let go of the staff and drew his sword.

"We will battle until I am convinced you are strong enough to defeat your demon. If you do _not_ convince me, I will slay you. Are these rules understood?" Avarielle nodded, and Valor raised his shield. "Our duel begins! Fight with Valor!"

Avarielle had to quickly raise the staff with both hands in order to fend off Valor's attack. Valor swung relentlessly, driving Avarielle back with every blow. Avarielle narrowly avoided an attack that would've taken her head off and maneuvered herself to Valor's left side. But before she could draw upon her mana, she was slammed by Valor's shield and knocked onto her back.

Avarielle quickly lifted herself on to one knee and fired an arcane missile at Valor, which he blocked by simply raising his shield in front of him as he charged her. Having needed very little mana for the spell thanks to the staff, Avarielle sent out a stream of arcane missiles, hoping to keep Valor's shield up. Just like she wanted, Valor kept his shield in front of his face as he charged her. She kept up her barrage right up until the point where Valor tried to slam his shield into her again. Because it was a blind swing, Avarielle was able to easily dodge it. She then parried Valor's sword and leaned back away from the second swing.

Avarielle thrust the staff forward with her right arm and sent an icy blast straight into Valor's face, causing him to stumble backwards and swing his sword blindly. She then summoned stones to form into a glove around her left hand and punched at Valor, launching the stone fist into his chest and knocking him onto his back. Avarielle summoned fire to her free hand in case Valor continued to attack her. Valor sat up with one hand raised.

"Enough, your strength is sufficient to the task. The staff is yours," Avarielle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she released the flames in her hand. Valor stood up and bowed in respect. "May you find glory in all your achievements, mortal."

"Thank you, Valor," Avarielle said, returning the bow. She then turned to leave, but she didn't get far before Valor stopped her.

"A moment, mortal. Might I ask who told you I was here?" he asked.

"A fellow apprentice who had taken too long with their Harrowing," Avarielle replied.

"And where might this apprentice be?" Valor asked. He seemed to be suspicious of something, but of what Avarielle couldn't be sure.

"He stayed behind. He said he didn't want to see you," she told him.

"I see," Valor said. He then waved her away. "Carry on, mortal." Avarielle nodded and continued back to the circle of flames where Mouse was waiting for her.

"Mouse," she called as she entered the clearing. "I'm back, and I have a staff from Valor."

"Oh, thank goodness," Mouse said as he stuck his head out of the hole he was hiding in. "I was afraid something had happened to you."

"Has the demon returned yet?" Avarielle asked.

"Yes, and he's waiting for you in the circle," Mouse replied. Avarielle nodded and made her way into the circle of flames. As she stepped into the ring, the flames rose higher to prevent her escape. Of course, it wasn't like she was going to try; with her staff, Avarielle felt like she could take on anything the Fade had to offer. She struck the ground with the end of her staff.

"Reveal yourself, demon!" she exclaimed. The ground before her began to ooze lava, and in a small eruption of fire, a rage demon rose from the ground in front of her. It's body was made of lava, and it's eyes were filled with fire.

"And so it comes to me at last," the demon said. "Soon I shall see the land of the living with your eyes, creature. You shall be mine, body and soul!"

"Then come and get me, if you can," Avarielle said confidently, holding her staff out in front of herself.

"Oh, I _shall_," the demon replied with a malicious chuckle. "So this creature is your offering, Mouse? Another plaything, as per our arrangement?"

"What is he talking about, Mouse?" Avarielle said, not taking her eyes off the demon.

"I'm not offering you anything!" Mouse said, walking up next to Avarielle in his human form. Avarielle was startled to see him there. How had he gotten past the flames? "I don't have to help you anymore!"

"Aw, and after all of those wonderful meals we have shared, now suddenly the mouse has changed the rules?"

"I have help, now," Mouse said, gesturing to Avarielle. "I don't need to bargain with you!"

"We shall see!" The demon launched a fireball at Avarielle. Avarielle threw up an arcane shield to defend herself. There was a flash of light that told her that Mouse had made a break for it. The demon then shot out a steady stream of fire from it's hands.

Avarielle couldn't stay on the defensive forever, as she was running out of time. Keeping the shield up, Avarielle focused her mana into the end of her staff, which she then released in a devastating cone of cold. The ice pushed back the flames and enveloped the demon, which gave a angry, pained scream as it's entire body was frozen solid. Avarielle lowered her shield to conserve her mana, and fired a stone fist at the frozen demon, shattering it into a hundred pieces. The ring of fire died down, and Mouse walked up to Avarielle in his regular form with a big grin on his face.

"You did it! You actually did it!" he exclaimed, thrusting his fists into the air with glee. "When you came, I hoped you might be able to, but I never thought any of you were ever really worthy!"

"The ones you betrayed before me," Avarielle said, shooting Mouse a glare, "What were their names?"

"What?" Mouse took a step back, raising his hands in front of him. "They were not as promising as you! It was a…long time ago. I don't remember their names, I don't even remember my own name! It's the Fade! And the templars, killing me, like they tried with you!"

"So what is it you think you can gain from me? Avarielle asked, finding it harder to trust Mouse.

"You defeated a demon! You completed your test!" Mouse said pointing at Avarielle. "With time, you will be a master enchanter with no equal!" He then smiled and held his arms out to the sides in a humble gesture. "And maybe there's hope in that for someone as small and as…forgotten as me, if you want to help. There may be a way for me to leave here, to get a foothold outside. You just need to want to let me in."

That didn't sound right to Avarielle. Mouse's suggestion sounded too much like a demon's proposition. And how could she even trust him? His hands were stained with blood as red as his robes. That thought struck Avarielle as odd. Red robes were worn by senior enchanters, not apprentices. If Mouse hadn't completed his Harrowing, why wasn't he wearing the blue robes of an apprentice? And how did he know his way around the Fade so well?

'_Might I ask who told you where to find me?'_ How _did_ Mouse know where to find Valor? Avarielle pointed her staff at Mouse.

"I'm starting to think the other demon wasn't my test," Mouse's eyes widened in fear as he took several steps back.

"O-of course it was! What could there possibly be here that could stand against a mage as powerful as you?" Mouse then stopped and smiled maliciously. "My, but you _are_ a smart one," His voice then turned deep and menacing, and Avarielle gripped her staff tighter. "Simple killing is a warrior's job. The real dangers of the Fade are preconceptions, careless trust…Pride!" Mouse raised his hands as a flash of light enveloped him. When the light faded, Mouse was gone, and in his place was a monster. It was twelve feet tall with hard, purplish skin, eight eyes, razor sharp teeth, and horns on it's head and spikes all over its body.

"You're a…pride demon!" Avarielle said, backing up as fear gripped her heart.

"And you are just the mage I have been waiting for," the Pride said. "With your magic at my disposal, those foolish templars will be unable to defeat me."

"I won't let you have my body!" Avarielle said, calling fire to her hand and throwing it at Pride. The flaming sphere hit Pride in the chest and exploded, but Pride merely laugh at her.

"You cannot hurt me with a spell like that, little mage," Pride said before charging at Avarielle. Avarielle sprayed Pride with a cone of cold, but it did nothing to slow him down. Before Avarielle could move out of the way, Pride snatched her up and held her out in front of him. "You will make a very tasty meal," Pride said. But before he could try and devour Avarielle, a spear lodged itself within the arm that held her. The demon roared in pain and dropped Avarielle. Avarielle looked up from where she was on the ground to see who had thrown the spear. There stood Valor, his sword and shield drawn.

"Somehow I knew it was you, my old foe," Valor said. "The mortal has resisted you and passed her test. You overstep your boundaries!"

"Soon I will have _no_ boundaries, you pathetic worm," Pride snarled at Valor, taking the spear of his arm and threw it at Valor. Valor raised his shield in defense, but the spear punched clean through it, narrowly missing Valor. Valor sheathed his sword and withdrew the spear and cast his shield aside. Transferring the spear to his left hand, Valor redrew his sword and pointed it at Pride.

"I will never allow you to gain a foothold in the mortal world! Fight me!" Valor charged at Pride as Pride did the same, smashing his fist into the ground when they reached each other. Valor dodged the blow and weaved in between Pride's legs. Slashing through one of Pride's ankles to momentarily stall him as he ran by, Valor ran over to Avarielle and helped her to her feet. "Return to where you first appeared in the Fade," he ordered. "There you will be able to return to the mortal world. You do not have much time left. Go!"

Avarielle nodded and began running towards the stone pathway she had raised earlier. But try as she might, she could not bring herself to cross it. A warrior spirit battling a pride demon; it was the stuff of legends and fairytales. Avarielle knew she would probably never see anything like this again. Knowing that time was of the essence, Avarielle still turned to watch the ensuing battle.

It quickly became clear that Valor had been holding back against her. If he had fought Avarielle like he was fighting Pride, he would have most certainly killed her. Avarielle watched as Valor danced around the demon, thrusting with his spear and slashing with his sword. The wounds he left were minor, but the overall effect was accumulating. Pride smashed his fist into the ground again, narrowly missing Valor. Valor then thrust his spear down into Pride's hand and pinned it to the ground, and then raised his sword with both hands and cut the demon's hand clean off.

Pride reeled back, roaring in pain as black ichor poured from the stump where his hand had been. He grabbed Valor with his remaining hand as the spirit was retrieving his spear and began to slam him into the ground repeatedly. Avarielle watched in horror as the mighty spirit was helpless to defend himself. Without thinking, Avarielle ran back to the fight. Pointing her staff at Pride, she called upon the power of lightning. Lightning, as well as certain entropy magic, was difficult for her, but as fire and ice had failed her, she had to try. With a loud blast of thunder, a bolt of lightning arced from the end of her staff and struck Pride in the back. Pride let go of Valor in mid-swing as he roared in pain, causing Valor to be hurled through the air and land near Avarielle's feet. Pride turned to Avarielle with a snarl. The lightning had done the trick, if the smoke rising from Pride's back and the smell of burnt demon flesh were anything to go by. Combine that with Pride's severed hand and numerous other wounds, and Pride had to be at his limits. Avarielle prayed that he was. After a moment of staring Pride growled in annoyance.

"You have won this time, but I will return. Keep your wits about you, little mage. True tests _never_ end," And with a flash of light he was gone. Avarielle let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. By some miracle, she had just driven off one of the mightiest races of demons in the entire Fade! Her amazement was short live, however, as a pained groan brought her attention to the wounded spirit at her feet.

"Stay alive, please, don't die on me!" Avarielle pleaded as she dropped to Valor's side and began applying healing magic to him. Blood was seeping from his armor, and his breathing was labored. Valor took Avarielle's hand and pulled it away.

"I am too gravely wounded, mortal," he said, and then he gave a pained cough that wracked his whole body. "No magic can save me now. I am honored to die in such a glorious battle."

"No, there must be _some_ way I can save you!" Avarielle pleaded. "I can't let you die like this, not after you saved my life! Please, let me help you!" Valor was quiet for a moment, and only his ragged breaths let Avarielle know he was still alive.

"There is only way that I can think of," Valor said hesitantly, "but I could not possibly ask it of you."

"Then I will ask," Avarielle said determinedly. She didn't know why, but she simply could not let Valor die. "What do I have to do?"

"You will have to let me merge my essence with yours," Valor said, seeming resigned to accept Avarielle's aid. "We will become one being, and share the same mind. However, if the templars discover me, they may assume me to be a demon and slay you. Are you willing to take that risk?"

"What must I do?" Avarielle asked.

"You simply have to want…to let me in."

* * *

_A.N./ Bet you didn't see _that_ coming. I tried to follow canon on this as much as possible, with an obvious exception to certain parts. I took out Sloth because I didn't see the point in it. Plus, defeating the rage demon by themselves would've given the mage even more to be proud of, hence more ammunition for Pride. I also had Mouse stay behind when Avarielle went to see Valor because I figured a spirit of the Fade would've been able to recognize a demon in disguise._

_A big thanks to Hikari86 for helping think of a title, Avarielle's name, and also proof-reading this chapter. The next chapter will be the second half of the mage origin._


	2. Chapter 2

_This chapter picks up after Avarielle's Harrowing. This chapter doesn't follow canon as strictly as the first one, so maybe it won't seem so stiff._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

There was darkness all around her, and everything was quiet except for the sound of someone snoring next to her, and someone else talking in the distance. Avarielle opened her eyes to see a bunk bed above her. Was she back in the apprentices' quarters? Avarielle sat up and held her head due to the pounding headache she had. A quick survey of the room revealed that she was indeed back in the apprentices' quarters. Had everything that happened been a dream?

A loud snore brought Avarielle's attention to the young man sleeping in the chair next to her. He was a fellow apprentice with medium length black hair, and he was sleeping with his head down, so she couldn't see his face. Of course, she didn't have to. Jowan had been her friend since Avarielle came to the tower, but he normally didn't sit next to her bed while she slept, or at least she hoped not. Having woken in a strangely good mood despite her headache, Avarielle grabbed the back of his robe and jerked him down onto the bed next to her.

"Gyah!" Jowan managed to wake up just before he ate Avarielle's mattress. "Don't do that, Avarielle, I thought you were a templar," he said as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. His eyes then shot open as he took a second look at her. "Avarielle! You're awake!"

"Thank you, Jowan, I kinda figured that out," Avarielle said with a laugh. "How long were you up?" Jowan yawned as he scratched his head.

"Almost all night. I woke up when the templars collected you for your Harrowing," Jowan said. So she _had_ taken her Harrowing. Which meant she really did battle a demon, which meant…Avarielle gasp as she remembered the battle against Pride, and what she had done to save Valor. "What? What's wrong?" Jowan said, becoming worried. Avarielle had to think fast.

"It's nothing, just a headache," she half-lied, putting her hand on her head. She gave a smile to put Jowan at ease.

"Okay, if you're sure," he said. He then started to fidget with one of the fastenings on his robe, an act that Avarielle had come to associate as the herald of a nervous question. "Listen, I know I'm not supposed to ask, but what exactly happened during your Harrowing?" Should she tell him? It was technically against the rules to tell an apprentice what they had to do during a Harrowing, but if Jowan knew what he was up against, then he'd be able to be better prepared. Then Avarielle remembered that Irving had said that the Harrowing was a secret for a reason.

"I'm sorry Jowan, but I can't tell you," she said. Jowan shrugged his shoulders.

"Just thought I'd ask," he said. He then gave an aggravated sigh. "Now you get to move to the nice mages' quarters upstairs. I'm stuck here, and I don't know _when_ they'll call me for _my_ Harrowing!"

"They'll summon you to the test when you're ready," Avarielle said, putting a hand on Jowan's shoulder to comfort him. Jowan just shook his head, stood up, and started pacing back and forth; never a good sign with Jowan.

"I've been here longer than you have," he said. "Sometimes I think they just don't _want_ to test me!"

"Maybe you're just not ready yet," Avarielle said, standing up as well and grabbing Jowan by the shoulders so he'd stop pacing. She then took hold of his face and forced him to look down at her. "They _will_ test you, Jowan." Jowan simply sighed.

"I hope you're right," he said. "Oh before I forget, I was told to send you to see First Enchanter Irving after you woke up. I think he wants to congratulate you."

"Thanks, Jowan," Avarielle said, patting him on the cheek before walking away. She left the apprentices' quarters and headed to the stairs. Over a dozen questions were running around her head. What did First Enchanter Irving want with her? When would Jowan be summoned for his Harrowing? And the foremost question, what had happened to Valor?

'_Fear not, Avarielle, I am quite well,'_ a voice rang through her mind.

"Valor?" Avarielle exclaimed. She immediately clamped her hand over her mouth and scanned the area to see if anyone had heard her. "Is that you?" she asked more quietly.

'_You do not have to speak openly,'_ Valor said. _'I hear your thoughts as if they were my own.'_

'_You're alive! Are you truly well again?'_

'_I have made a full recovery,' _Valor assured her. _'You have my eternal gratitude for the risk you took to save me.'_

'_But how did you escape the templars' notice?'_ Avarielle asked, remembering Valor's warning that they might kill her.

_'__I didn't. It was only by a stroke of luck that the templar who examined you had never attended a Harrowing,'_ Valor explained. '_He noticed my presence and merely assumed that it was commonplace in a Harrowed mage.'_

'_That _is_ lucky,'_ Avarielle thought as she continued her ascent of the tower. _'So what does…_this_ mean for us?'_

'_You and I shall be as one person, sharing the same thoughts,'_ Valor explained. _'Only through your death can we be separated, and I'm not certain I would survive such a thing. For better or worse, we are stuck together.'_

'_So it would seem,'_ Avarielle said. She had reached the floor where First Enchanter Irving's office was. _'I hope it hasn't been a horrible experience thus far.'_

'_It has been…interesting, to say the least,'_ Valor said. _'After the Harrowing, I watched your dreams as you slept. I experienced them firsthand, as if _I_ were the dreamer. There was one dream in particular that interested me the most. One of a childhood friend of yours, from before you were taken by the templars. A young girl. I think her name was…'_

'_Hold that thought,'_ Avarielle said as she approached Irving's office. The door was open, and she could hear someone arguing from within. Avarielle stood in the doorway to see Greagoir arguing with Irving. There was also another man there. He was human, had tanned skin, black tied back hair, a beard, and was wearing plate armor. He seemed content to let the other two yell at each other.

"Many have already gone to Ostagar," Greagoir said. "Wynn, Uldred, and most of the senior mages! We've committed enough of our own to this war effort!"

"_Your_ own?" Irving questioned with a _hmph._ "Since when have you felt such kinship with the mages, Greagoir? Or are you afraid to let mages out from under Chantry supervision, where they can actually _use_ their Maker-given powers?"

"How _dare_ you suggest…" Greagoir began, before the stranger cut him off.

"Gentlemen, _please_!" he said with a requesting, yet firm tone. He then gestured towards Avarielle. "Irving, someone is here to see you." Irving and Greagoir both turned to the doorway where Avarielle was standing. Upon having been spotted, Avarielle stepped fully into the room.

"You sent for me?" Irving smiled as he addressed her.

"Well, if it isn't our new sister in the Circle," he said, his voice brimming with pride. "Come, child." As Avarielle approached, she noticed that the stranger was appraising her like she was some sort of jewel.

"This is the one you spoke of?" he asked, seeming quite interested in Avarielle.

"Yes, this is Avarielle," Irving said. Greagoir cleared his throat.

"You're obviously busy," he said. "We will discuss this later." He then proceeded to leave the room.

"Of course," Irving said, more to himself than to Greagoir. "Now, where was I? Oh yes," He gestured to the stranger. "This is Duncan, of the Grey Wardens." Duncan inclined his head to Avarielle in greeting as he was introduced. Avarielle's eyes widened. A Grey Warden, in the tower? She quickly bowed in respect.

"It is an honor to meet you, Duncan," she said, to which Duncan chuckled.

"As it is to meet you," he said. "Irving has spoken quite highly of you. He said you were his brightest apprentice." This made Avarielle blush, as she was not use to such praise.

"You've heard about the war brewing in the south, I expect?" Irving said. "Duncan is recruiting mages to join the king's army at Ostegar." Avarielle _had_ heard something about a war, but she didn't know any details.

"Who are we fighting?" she asked.

"The darkspawn threat grows in the south," Duncan said. "We need all the help we can get. If we don't drive them back, we may very well face another Blight." This was troubling news. Avarielle had read about past Blights. They were known to go on for years before being stopped, and the lands they spread to were left uninhabitable due to the Taint.

"Duncan, you worry the girl with talk of Blights and darkspawn," Irving said. "This is a happy day for her."

"We live in troubled times, my friend," Duncan replied.

"We should seize moments of levity, _especially_ in troubled times," Irving countered. He then turned to Avarielle. "Your Harrowing is behind you. Your phylactery was sent to Denerim. You are officially a mage in the Circle of Magi."

"Thank you, First Enchanter," Avarielle said, bowing in respect. Duncan raised a hand, as if seeking permission to interrupt.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is this phylactery?" he asked.

"Blood is taken from mages when they first arrive at the tower, and is preserved in special vials," Irving explained.

"So they can be hunted if they turn apostate," Duncan said, having seemed to have caught on quickly.

"We have few choices," Irving said solemnly. "The gift of magic is looked upon with suspicion and fear. We must prove we are strong enough to handle our power responsibly." He then returned his gaze to Avarielle. "You have done this," he said. He walked over to his desk and picked up a folded bundle of cloth and a ring. "I present to you your robes, and a ring bearing the Circle's insignia. Wear them proudly; you have earned them."

"Thank you," Avarielle said as she accepted them. "What about my staff?"

"Your staff?" Irving said looking confused as he looked around the room. "Yes, where did I put that thing? Ah! Here it is." Irving walked over to a corner of the room behind a bookshelf and produced a staff of ivory dragon bone. Avarielle gasped when she saw it; it was an exact replica of the staff Valor gave her during her Harrowing.

'_As I said, the staff is yours,'_ Valor said, sounding almost amused.

'_How did you-'_

'_How is unimportant,'_ Valor said. _'Accept it as my gift to you for saving my life.'_

"Hmm, I don't recall Owain giving me this staff," Irving mused, looking at it with interest. "Oh well, I suppose that's just my old mind playing tricks on me. Here you are." Avarielle gladly accepted the staff. After what she had went through in the Fade, it felt good to have this staff in her hand, almost like it completed her arm.

'_Spoken like a warrior,'_ Valor said approvingly.

"Now, Avarielle," Irving said, "if you'd be so kind as to show Duncan his room, it's next to the library, across from the stockroom. After that, the day is yours."

"Could I leave the tower?" Avarielle asked, excited at the prospect. Apprentices weren't allowed outside of the tower.

"Not yet," Irving said, much to Avarielle's disappointment. "Don't forget, this tower is meant to protect you just as much as it is to protect those outside of it."

"Yes, First Enchanter," Avarielle said. She then turned to Duncan. "Right this way, please." She left the office and began leading Duncan to his room.

"So, where are you from?" Duncan asked as they walked.

"The Alienage in Denerim," Avarielle said. "I discovered I had magic when I was eleven, and the templars brought me to the Circle. That was seven years ago."

"I see. I was born in Highever," Duncan said as they reached his room. "Do you have any family in Denerim?" Avarielle looked at the ground.

"No, they died in a fire…seven years ago," she said, tightening her grip on her staff as the memories returned.

"I see," Duncan said sympathetically, seeming to have pieced together what Avarielle was saying. He then changed the subject. "Did you have any friends there?"

"A couple," Avarielle said, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "There was Soris and Shianni. They're brother and sister. But my _best_ friend was their cousin, Tali."

'_Yes, _that_ was her name,'_ Valor said in an _'aha!'_ voice.

'_Not now,'_ Avarielle warned him.

"Tali…" Duncan mused, as if the name was familiar to him. "Would she happen to be the daughter of Adaia?" This surprised Avarielle; almost everyone in Denerim knew who Adaia was, but Avarielle didn't think she knew anyone outside of Denerim.

"Yes, did you know her?" Avarielle asked.

"Indeed," Duncan said. "I never knew anyone who could handle a knife like her. I asked her to join the Grey Wardens, but she refused because her daughter had recently been born. I was hoping to go to Denerim and ask her again when I left here."

"You don't know?" Avarielle asked. Duncan gave her a confused look. "Adaia died almost ten years ago. Some nobles killed her." Duncan's eyes widened in shock.

"I…I never knew…" he said. "Is Cyrion okay?" Cyrion was Adaia's husband and Tali's father.

"I think he is," Avarielle said. "He was distraught at first, but he pulled himself together for Tali's sake."

"That's good," Duncan said. He then gave a slight bow to Avarielle. "It was a pleasure to speak with you. I'll let you get on with your day."

"Thank you, ser Duncan," Avarielle said, returning the bow. She left to go to the mages' quarters. She was sure her stuff had been moved there by now.

It didn't take Avarielle long to find the mages' quarters, and even less time to find her room. Unlike apprentices, full mages were given their own rooms. Once within the privacy of her new room, Avarielle stripped her old blue apprentice robes, and put on her new yellow mage robes. She looked in the vanity mirror that had been provided for her and frowned. The yellow robes didn't look as good on her as the blue ones. And to make matters worse, her hair was in the state it had been when she was woken for her Harrowing. Grabbing her hair brush, Avarielle sat down at the vanity and began brushing.

As she gazed into her new vanity, Avarielle couldn't help but to linger on her facial tattoos. They started as a deep indigo up high on either temple, just below her raven black hairline and bringing out her jade eyes, and curved down along her jaw line and her cheek, turning into a vibrant cerulean. They then trailed down on either side of her throat, fading into a light sky blue down to her collarbone. Avarielle's face had a narrow, triangular shape, but the tattoos made her face look rounder than it was.

The tattoos had been done by a friend of hers named Anders. He offered to make them full body, and the facial ones were so good that she almost agreed to it. But Anders had a reputation in the tower for being a womanizer, and friend or not, there was no guarantee that he'd behave himself once she was naked. Avarielle idly wondered where Anders was, and if he'd been captured yet; Anders was constantly escaping the tower, and was very good at it. The only thing he had trouble with was staying escaped. After the first four attempts, everyone came to expect them from Anders. What no one could figure out was how every single time, he escaped being killed, or worse, being made Tranquil.

'_On the subject of your friends…'_ Valor said. Avarielle groaned. Whatever it was she had dreamed must have been very interesting to Valor. _'As a matter of fact, it was,'_ he said. _'In the dream, you and your friend, Tali, were touching lips. I believe you mortals call it kissing?'_ Avarielle dropped the hair brush as her reflection blushed.

'_I…we…,'_ Avarielle was tripping over her own mind trying to explain this. _'W-we were just practicing, for when we kissed boys!'_ she hastily thought. It was the truth.

'_From my understanding, you enjoyed kissing her,'_ Valor said, making Avarielle blush even harder. '_I do not mean to embarrass you, I am simply trying to grasp the emotions behind it all. The feelings of mortal are…alien to me,'_ he confessed.

'_I…don't fully understand them, either,'_ Avarielle said, and it was also the truth. Kissing had just been fun, at first, but somewhere along the line it became more than fun. Avarielle hadn't even realized how much she had enjoyed kissing Tali until she was in the Circle Tower. She had been laying awake, missing her best friend, and realized that she also missed kissing her.

'_I see,'_ Valor said. _'You had fallen in love with her without realizing it.'_

'_What?'_ Avarielle mentally exclaimed. If she blushed any harder, she was afraid her head might explode. _'I-I don't love her!'_ Did she? No, she couldn't possibly be in love with Tali. She was her friend, nothing more. And it didn't even matter, if they never saw each other again. Avarielle instantly began to miss Tali, again.

Rather than sit around thinking sad thoughts with an overly-curious spirit, Avarielle decided to go to the library and read. She had recently found a romance novel, entitled 'The Rose of Orlais', about a noblewoman named Talia. On second thought, Avarielle decided that she'd find something else; Talia sounded too much like Tali at the moment. Perhaps she could reread 'Dane and the Werewolf'.

Tying her hair back into a low ponytail, Avarielle took her staff and began making her way towards the library, doing her best to answer Valor's never-ending questions about the mortal world. They proved to be a good distraction from her thoughts on Tali. At one point Avarielle caught sight of Cullen, one of the templars in the tower, and quickly ducked into a nearby room to avoid him. Avarielle didn't have a fear of templars, and Cullen was actually one of the nicer ones. The problem was, as much as he may deny or hide it, Cullen had feelings for Avarielle, and any relationship between a mage and a templar was forbidden. Plus, as sweet and handsome as he was, Cullen just wasn't Avarielle's type.

As Avarielle passed the storage area, she could hear someone inside fussing over something. She took a look inside to see Senior Enchanter Leorah. Leorah was an elf, and she was recently put in charge of the storage area, but she looked frustrated for some reason. Partially due to curiosity, but mostly due to her helpful nature, Avarielle decided to ask what was wrong.

"Excuse me," she said, making her presence know. Leorah seemed startled at first, but calmed down when she saw it was only Avarielle. "May I ask what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Leorah said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I, uh, have everything under control." Avarielle wasn't convinced. Leorah was too flustered, and on top of that, her staff was missing.

"Are you sure? I could help you," Avarielle insisted, straightening up and holding her head up confidently. Leorah seemed to think about it for a moment.

"Oh, alright, you can help me," she said. She then pointed to the large doors that lead to the storage room. "The entire storage room has been infested with giant spiders. I tried to get rid of them, but I couldn't do it. I wound up losing my staff in there."

'_G-giant spiders?'_ Avarielle gulped. She _really_ didn't like spiders! She suddenly felt that she should've left Leorah alone.

'_You have braved the Fade and stood up to a pride demon,'_ Valor said sternly. _'Are you truly going to let _spiders_ frighten you?'_

"I can get rid of them for you." Avarielle said. _'Why did I say that?'_

"Oh, thank goodness!" Leorah said, looking relieved. She walked over to the doors and pulled a key out of her robes. "I locked the doors so the spiders couldn't get out." Once she unlocked the doors, Leorah opened one just a crack and peered inside. "I don't see any spiders," she said. "Good luck!" Avarielle nodded and stepped inside.

'_Valor, if I die,'_ Avarielle said as the doors closed behind her. _'I'm going to kill you.'_

* * *

_A.N./Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I didn't want this chapter to be too long. The next chapter will wrap up Avarielle's origin. If you weren't able to figure it out(and I sincerely hope you were), Tali is my Tabris character. I'll be doing her origin after Avarielle, saving my Mahariel character for last._

_More thanks to Hikari86. Without her proof-reading, there'd be a lot of grammer mistakes that I'd missed. If anyone wants to know how Valor got the staff into the real world, a wizard did it._


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three, finally up. This will be the last chapter in Avarielle's origin._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

Avarielle looked around the room, staff at the ready in case a spider jumped out; she was seriously wishing she had just said no to Leorah. The storage room was a giant cavern that was used for storing things that the stockroom didn't have room for. Crates, desks, chests, and other assorted stuff were scattered all around. Avarielle slowly moved forward, praying to the Maker that Leorah had just seen a few shadows and overreacted.

The Maker truly had a sick sense of humor, as no sooner had Avarielle finished the prayer did she hear a sinister hissing sound coming from her left. Avarielle turned and pointed her staff in the direction the hiss came from, and _meeped_ when she saw the spider. It was bigger than a mabari, and was infinitely more frightening as far as Avarielle was concerned. More hissing alerted her to the presence of even more spiders as they creeped out of the shadows. Avarielle counted at least five of them. There was no way she could take them all on. She turned and started running as fast as she could.

'_Muster your courage!'_ Valor commanded._ 'Stand and fight!'_ Courage surged through Avarielle, and she stopped and turned around in time to see one of the spiders leaping towards her. Avarielle struck it out of the air with her staff, and stabbed the end of it into the spider's head. She then shot a fireball at another spider as it jumped towards her, knocking it backwards and onto it's back. She then crushed another one that was crawling towards her with a stone fist.

Avarielle pulled her staff out of the first spider's head and pointed it at the remaining spiders, waiting for them to make a move. They seemed reluctant to press their luck, and retreated into a tunnel in the back of the storage room. Avarielle let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. What just happened? Where had that courage come from?

'_Go after them!'_ Valor said. _'Do not allow them to regroup!'_ Avarielle heeded Valor's command and took off down the tunnel after the spiders. On a whim, she enchanted her staff so that it was coated in ice.

Avarielle followed the tunnel as it went deeper. She turned a corner and came face to face with a jumping spider, which she batted aside with her staff. The enchantment on it froze the spider, causing it to shatter as it hit the ground. Two more came running at her, and she reached out and caught them in an invisible force field. Avarielle began closing her hand, and the spiders began to crumple as the force field crushed them until they popped. Continuing down the tunnel, Avarielle dispatched spiders one by one. She thought it strange that she no longer held any fear of them, and wondered if Valor had anything to do with it.

After several minute of fighting, Avarielle came running into a large cavern filled with spiders. They were everywhere; on the groundc on the walls, in their webs. There were so many that Avarielle couldn't count them all. A hissing came from behind her, and she turned to find that several spiders had somehow gotten behind her. The spiders and her trapped.

'_Fear not,'_ Valor said. Avarielle could feel his spirit rising up inside of her, and a bluish haze settled over her eyes. _'I will fight through you!'_

It was as if her body began moving with a mind of its own. Avarielle turned and cast a stream of fire at the spiders in the tunnel. She then turned and batted away a spider that had jumped towards her, and then thrust her staff into another spider. Pulling the staff out, Avarielle turned in a full circle, spraying fire from her staff to ward off the spiders.

Avarielle's head turned from side to side, taking in her surroundings. Despite the number of spiders that had already been killed, there were still roughly a dozen of them. Avarielle wished that she could use the chain lightning spell.

'_An excellent idea,'_ Valor said. Avarielle grasped her staff with both hands and struck the ground with the butt of the staff. Lightning arced from the jewel at the head of the staff and struck a spider as it tried to jump on her. The lightning knocked the spider back, and then began to arc from one spider to another, catching all of the spiders in the room. The spiders screeched in pain as they were electrocuted. After a moment the spell was ended. The haze was lifted from her eyes, and Avarielle found that she had control of her limbs again. She immediately felt weak in the knees, and had to use her staff as a support.

'_W-what did you do?'_ Avarielle said. Now that the fight was over, her fear had returned, and as frightening as the spiders had been, whatever it was that Valor had done was even more frightening.

'_I momentarily took control of your body so that I might properly aid you,'_ Valor said. _'With my superior combat skills, I felt that I could defeat the spiders with little difficulty. And I did.'_

'_Well thank you, but try not to make a habit out of that,'_ Avarielle said, calming down slightly. _'It was kinda unnerving, not being in control of my own body.'_

'_I'll be sure to do that only as a last resort, then,'_ Valor said._ 'Before we go, take a look in the corner over there.'_ Avarielle didn't need to ask where Valor meant; she somehow knew. In the corner that Valor specified was a large cocoon made of spider webs. _'I believe that's an egg sack. It would be wise to dispose of it, lest we have to do this again.'_

'_Right.'_ Avarielle pointed her staff at the egg sack and cast a grease spell. A stream of greenish liquid shot from the end of her staff and onto the egg sack. Avarielle made sure it was liberally coated before throwing a fireball at it. The egg sack instantly went up in flames thanks to the grease. Avarielle was half afraid that she'd hear the little baby spiders screaming, or worse, see them coming out of the egg sack. Thankfully, neither happened, and Avarielle turned to leave. Time to give Leorah the good news.

* * *

Avarielle sat down at a table in the library with a copy of 'Dane and the Werewolf', feeling refreshed after the bath she had taken; she hadn't noticed while fighting the spiders, but she had gotten blood and dirt all over herself in the storage room. So, she had gone to the washroom to clean up. She had tried washing her robes as well, but the blood stains had already set in. All she could do was request another set of robes from Owain. Fortunately, he had another set of robes in her size.

Avarielle was just getting to the good part of the story when she was interrupted by a nervous looking Jowan.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" he said in a hushed tone, which struck Avarielle as odd.

"What's wrong, Jowan?" she asked. "Why are you whispering?" Jowan quickly shushed her.

"Not so loud!" he said. "There's…something I need to talk to you about." Hushed voices, hesitation; something was definitely wrong.

"You're starting to worry me, Jowan," Avarielle said, and she meant it.

"You're not the only one," Jowan said. "Please, just come with me." Avarielle had a bad feeling about this, but if Jowan needed her, then she couldn't just turn him away.

"Alright, but you'd better explain what's going on," Avarielle said. Jowan seemed relieved at this.

"I will," he said, "just follow me." Avarielle put down the book and followed Jowan out of the library. Jowan led her into the chapel, of all places, and into a secluded corner, where a young priest was standing. "Alright, we should be safe here." Had he lost his mind?

"Jowan, there's a priest standing right here," Avarielle said.

"Oh, I'm not priest yet," the girl said, as if a pair of mages walking into a secluded corner with her was natural. "I'm still just an initiate." This was getting confusing.

"Jowan, what's going on?" Avarielle demanded. Jowan scratched the back of his head and blushed.

"Well, I told you a month ago that I'd met someone," he said nervously. He then gestured to the girl. "This is Lily." Avarielle didn't want to, but she just couldn't help herself.

"My deepest condolences, Lily," she said apologetically to the initiate.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Jowan said annoyed. "That's not why I brought you here, anyway."

"Then why _did_ you bring me here?" Avarielle demanded again. As happy as Avarielle was that Jowan had found someone special, she didn't like the fact that that someone was an initiate; such relationships were forbidden, another reason she avoided Cullen at all costs. If Jowan and Lily were found out, they would be severely punished.

"It's horrible, Avarielle," Jowan said, suddenly looking very worried. "They're not going to let me take my Harrowing. They intend to make me Tranquil!" This came as a shock to Avarielle. What reason could Irving and Greagoir have to make Jowan Tranquil?

"Why would they do that?" Avarielle asked. "And how do you even know, for that matter?" Lily raised her hand.

"I told him," she said. "I saw the papers on Greagoir's desk."

"As for why," Jowan said, suddenly looking more nervous than before. "There's a rumor going around that I'm…a blood mage." Avarielle gasped at this; blood mages used blood to fuel their magic, and could use blood magic to do horrible things, such as control people. Blood magic was forbidden by the Chantry, and any mage who used it were proclaimed as maleficars, and sentenced to death.

"Jowan, please tell me it's not true," Avarielle said worriedly. The very thought of Jowan being a blood mage frightened her. Jowan raised his hands in front of himself.

"They're all lies, but that doesn't change the fact that they're going to make me Tranquil!" Jowan reached over and took hold of Lily's hand. "They're going to take everything from me! My hopes, my dreams, my love for Lily…all gone." This was all very heart wrenching for Avarielle. Nearly everyone in the tower believed being made Tranquil to be a fate worse than death.

"I wish there was some way for me to help," Avarielle said. Jowan gave her that nervous look again.

"There _is_ a way," he said. "Lily and I are going to escape. Tonight. But to do that we need to get into the repository and destroy my phylactery. And for that…we need your help." Avarielle took a step back at this. They wanted her to help them break into the repository?

"I…" She should have said no. She wanted to say no. But at the same time she couldn't. It all sounded so much like one of her romance novels, and being the hopeless romantic she was, Avarielle couldn't bring herself to say no. "What do I have to do?" Jowan and Lily both let out breaths that Avarielle hadn't noticed they were holding.

"There will be two doors to the phylactery chamber," Lily said. Avarielle wasn't surprised to find that Lily was the one with the plan; Jowan was never the brightest apprentice. "The first door is designed to require a mage and a templar. It requires a password provided by the Chantry, and any spell from a mage. It will be simple enough to pass. The other door," she said, "is another matter. It requires two keys, one carried by the Knight-Commander, and the other one by the First Enchanter, and we can't very well get both of them." Jowan's eye widened and he raised his hand like he was in class.

"I once saw a rod of fire melt through a lock!" he said.

"Or I could freeze the lock," Avarielle said. "I read in a book that if you freeze metal, it becomes brittle."

"Even better!" Jowan said. "We can go right now!" Avarielle couldn't remember the last time she had seen Jowan so happy about something, and Lily looked equally so. It warmed Avarielle's heart to see two people so clearly in love. She was happy for them, if not a little jealous. "Come on, the repository is on the first floor."

"We can't all go at once," Avarielle said. "Wouldn't you think seeing a mage, an apprentice, and an initiate all going into the repository at once was suspicious?"

"You're right," Lily said. "We'll have to go in one at a time, and whenever no one's paying attention."

"I'll go first," Avarielle offered.

"Alright, good luck," Jowan said. Avarielle nodded and left the small corner they were talking in. She exited the chapel and began made her way down to the first floor. When she reached the entrance to the repository, she looked around to make sure no one was there. Seeing no one, she went in and waited. While she was waiting, Avarielle examined the door that was at the end of the short hallway. It had no lock as far as she could tell, but there was an enchantment of some sort on it. She would've examined it more, but Jowan then came in, followed shortly by Lily.

"Alright, we're all here," she said. "I was able to get the password for the door from a templar. The password primes the ward, and then a Harrowed mage needs to use any spell on it." Lily walked up to the door and spoke in a clear voice. "Sword of the Maker, tears of the Fade." A strange humming sound started up, and Avarielle could feel a shift in the enchantment on the door. "Now, Avarielle. Any spell will do." Avarielle fired a simple arcane missile at the door, and the enchantment was dispelled with whooshing sound.

Avarielle opened the door, and the three of them went through. The other door was just in front of them, with another hallway to the right. The door was covered in strange markings and had a lock on it that had two keyholes in it. Without waiting for any sort of prompt, Avarielle walked up to the door and touched the lock with the end of her staff and began channeling ice magic to the lock. But no matter how much magic she used, the lock wouldn't freeze over. Avarielle carefully touched the lock and found that it wasn't even cool to the touch.

"We have a problem," Avarielle said while turning to the others. "The lock won't freeze."

"Maybe it's some type of ice-proof metal?" Jowan said. "Try using fire."

"Right." Avarielle extended her arm towards the lock and tried to call fire to her hand, but nothing happened. "What's going on?" Lily walked up to the door and examined the markings.

"It's these markings," she said. "They're an enchantment meant to neutralize a mage's magic. _That's_ why the door uses regular keys, because magical ones don't work!" Lily put her hand over her face. "How do you keep a mage out? By making their powers useless! That's it! There's nothing we can do!"

"We can't just give up!" Avarielle said, feeling bold for some reason. She felt Valor back down almost sheepishly. It seemed she wasn't the only one who wanted to help Lily and Jowan. "There has to be another way into the phylactery chamber!"

"Avarielle's right, we have to find another way!" Jowan agreed. He looked down the hallway to the right pointed. "Where does that door lead?" Avarielle and Lily looked to where he was pointing. At the far end was another door that seemed to be clean of any markings.

"Let me check," Lily said, pulling a map out of her robes. "It looks like that door leads to a series of hallways that end at the artifacts room, which is right next to the phylactery chamber."

"Maybe we can find a way in through there?" Avarielle suggested.

"Maybe," Lily said, giving it some thought. "The phylactery chamber is kept chilled, so it's possible that the wall that separates it from the artifact room has been weakened."

"It's not like we have very many options," Jowan said. "We'll just have to find out when we get there. Let's just hope this other door isn't magic-proof, too." The three of them walked up to the other door. Avarielle touched the lock with the end of her staff and tired to call cold. This time it produced the desired effect as the lock froze over. Avarielle propped her staff against the wall and placed her hands on either side of the lock, wincing at the sting of the cold metal. She then fired an arcane missile from both hands, breaking the lock into pieces, which she then let drop.

"That was impressive," Lily said. She looked at her map again. "Follow me, I'll take us to the artifact room."

* * *

The three of them finally made it into the artifact room. There had been so many twists, turns, and rooms, that they might've been wandering around the repository for hours without Lily's map. She was still looking at it, until she pointed to one of the far walls of the room.

"The phylactery chamber is on the other side of that wall," she said. "We just have to find a way through it."

"Right, give me a moment," Avarielle said as she approached the indicated wall. She began running her fingers along the wall, trying to see if she could find a weak spot. She was about to go around a bookshelf when her fingers brushed against it, and found that it was cool to the touch. She reached behind it and found that the wall behind it was cold. "Jowan, help me move this bookshelf!"

"Sure thing." Together they were able to pick up the shelf and move it to the side. If apprentices didn't regularly move beds around in the apprentices' quarters, they might not have been able to do it. The wall behind the shelf was covered in mold and showed signs of collapsing at any moment, given the right amount of force. "Now, how are we going to knock down this wall?"

"By using this," Lily said. She was standing next to a statue of a mabari with it's mouth open. It looked to be Tevinter in origin. "Statues like this one were created by the Tevinter magistrates to help amplify their spells. Avarielle could use it to break down the wall."

"That's brilliant, Lily!" Jowan exclaimed, hugging her and kissing her cheek. It was so sweet that Avarielle _awed_, which instantly made Jowan blush. "Hurry up and blow up the wall, will you?" Avarielle snickered at Jowan's embarrassment as she turned her attention to the statue. Turning it slightly so that it was facing straight at the wall, Avarielle shot a fireball at it. The spell was instantly absorbed into the statue, and then a massive fireball shot out of the statue's mouth.

Avarielle _eeped_ and covered her face as rubble went flying. She seriously hoped no one upstairs heard the explosion. She felt a draft and uncovered her face. The wall was completely gone, revealing the inside of the phylactery chamber. The three of them stepped inside and looked around. As Lily had said, the room was cold on the inside. Ice had formed all over the walls and ceiling. All along the walls were shelves holding dozens of phylacteries.

"How do we find Jowan's phylactery among all the others?" Avarielle asked.

"It's up there, somewhere," Jowan said, pointing at a desk up a set of stairs. "I cant explain it, but I knew one of those is mine. I can feel it calling to me." Jowan walked up the stairs and picked up one of the vials. "To think this tiny vial is the only thing standing between me and freedom," he said before dropping it. "And now I'm free."

"Alright, I think it's time we left," Lily said. "We should be able to leave through the main door."

"That's good," Avarielle said. "I'd hate to have to walk all the back through the-" She was cut off, though, by the sound of a heavy footsteps from within the chamber. She turned to see a massive set of armor running towards her with a sword raised. "Watch out!" she exclaimed as she pushed Lily out of the way, narrowly avoiding the sword herself.

'_I can help you!'_ Valor said as his spirit tried to rise up.

'_Stay down!'_ Avarielle told him as she dodged another swing and blasted the sentinel with an arcane missile. For all it did, she might as well have thrown a rock at it. _'I'd rather not have to explain to Jowan and Lily that I have a spirit inside of me!'_

'_Then at least follow my instructions!'_ Valor said. Avarielle mentally agreed. She dodged when Valor said to dodge, and parried when he said to parry. Jowan was casting arcane missiles from a distance, but they weren't having any effect other than making the sentinel angry. _'Tell him to stay out of the fight, or he will get himself killed!'_

"I'll handle this, Jowan!" Avarielle said while ducking another blow. Jowan looked like he wanted to protest, but Lily said something to him. With Jowan reluctantly keeping to the sidelines, Avarielle had the sentinel's full attention. Valor was getting her into the right position before having her go on the offensive.

'_Do it now!'_ Avarielle parried another blow and slipped under the sentinel's defenses. Moving behind it, Avarielle stabbed her staff into the back of the sentinel's knee, crippling it. She then shot a fireball over it's head at the mabari statue, and jumped out of the way as another massive fireball blasted the walking armor to pieces.

Propping herself up from her spot on the floor, Avarielle took a moment to catch her breath. Jowan walked over and helped her to her feet.

"Avarielle, that was amazing!" he said. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Uh," Avarielle had to think fast. "Instinct?"

"If I had _those_ instincts, I'd have just marched out the door, _daring_ any templar to stop me!" Jowan said jokingly. "It think it'd be best if we left, just in case there's any more of those things."

"Right, let's go." The three of them left via the main door, and made there way out of the repository. But when the reached the main floor, they were greeted by a group of templars, with First Enchanter Irving, Knight-Commander Greagoir, and Duncan at the front.

"So, it was as your informant said, Irving," Greagoir said. "An initiate conspiring with a blood mage!"

"I'm disappointed in you, Avarielle," Irving said. "If you knew about Jowan's plan to escape, you should have come to me."

"I'm sorry, First Enchanter," Avarielle said, "but I couldn't turn by back on him. I simply couldn't stand by and let Jowan be made Tranquil." She saw Duncan raise an eyebrow, but it didn't matter.

"The initiate seems to be within her right mind," Greagoir said. "It seems she wasn't under the blood mage's control. Arrest them, men. The initiate is to be taken to Aeonar."

"Not the mage's prison!" Lily said, backing up in fear as the templars approached. Jowan stepped in front of her and drew a knife.

"I won't let you take her!" he exclaimed before stabbing the knife into his hand. Avarielle felt Jowan's magic flare up as blood poured from the wound. Jowan raised his hands and sent out a surge of magic that sent the templars, Irving, Greagoir, and Duncan flying. Avarielle could scarcely believe it; Jowan had used blood magic! And after he told her that he wasn't a blood mage!

"Blood magic!" Lily said, appearing equally horrified, which meant that Jowan had lied to her too. Jowan seemed to realize what he had done and turned to Lily pleadingly.

"Yes, I dabbled in blood magic," Jowan said, "but I'm giving it up! All magic! I just want to be with you, Lily!"

"Blood magic changes people, Jowan!" Lily said backing away. She closed eyes and held her hand out in front of herself. "I don't know you, blood mage! Keep away from me!"

Looking heartbroken, Jowan ran away as a few of the templars were coming to their senses, including Greagoir.

"Pursue the blood mage!" Greagoir ordered, and several of the templars that had gotten back on their feet ran out after Jowan. A few of them stayed behind to help Greagoir and Irving to their feet, Duncan being able to get up but himself. "To think he was so powerful! Where is that initiate?"

"I'm right here, Commander," Lily said, stepping forward. Avarielle tried to intervene on her behalf.

"Please, Commander," she said, "Lily didn't know Jowan was a blood mage!"

"I thank you for what you are trying to do," Lily said, "but I can speak for myself." She then turned back to Greagoir. "I have been accomplice to…a blood mage. I submit myself to whatever punishment you deem necessary…even Aeonar."

"Right, you two, take her away." At his command, two of the remaining templars escorted Lily out of the room. Greagoir then turned his attention back to Avarielle. The rage in his eyes would've scared a demon. "You are in a lot of trouble, mage."

"If I may, Knight-Commander," Duncan said as he stepped forward. "I didn't just come to the tower to request more mages. I also came looking for potential recruits." He then gestured to Avarielle. "This girl has shown extreme dedication to her friends, and Irving has spoken very highly of her aptitude with magic. The Grey Wardens would benefit from someone like her." Avarielle was stunned, to say the least. Was Duncan really suggesting that she be recruited into the legendary Grey Wardens?

"No, absolutely not!" Greagoir exclaimed, outraged that such a thing was suggested. "She could be a thrall to the blood mage! That is a risk we cannot take!"

"Unless I am mistaken," Irving said, "the Grey Wardens still have the Rite of Conscription." Greagoir looked like he was on the verge of an outburst. But before that could happen, he threw his hands up and started walking away. "Fine! I wash my hands of this!" The templars followed him out, and Avarielle was left in the room with Irving and Duncan.

"So…I am to become a Grey Warden?" Avarielle asked.

"Indeed," Duncan said. "In fact, I've had my eye on you since Irving told me about you. I believe you would make an excellent addition to the Wardens." And that meant Avarielle would get to leave the tower! It sounded almost too good to be true!

"Might I have a moment, Avarielle?" Irving asked. Avarielle walked with him a short distance away from Duncan. "While I am disappointed that you didn't come to me with Jowan and Lily's plan, I _am_ proud of you for standing up for your friends." Irving put his hands on Avarielle's shoulders. "I want you to show the world what we mages can do."

"Yes, First Enchanter." Avarielle returned to Duncan. "Allow me to gather a few things, and I'll be ready to go."

* * *

_A.N/I'd like to give a very warm thank you to Hikari86 for sending people my way in her last chapter of Blood Promise. Since she put me on the spot, I'm going to do the same for her. If you haven't read any of Hikari86's work, then I strongly recomend that you do. Her first fanfic is Blood Bonds. Find it, read it, and give the girl some love! She's worked hard for it!_


	4. Chapter 4

_So here we are, at the start of a new origin! As mentioned in the previous chapter, this will be the origin of my Tabris character. Hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

_Soft lips mold against hers. Hands press against her back, pulling her tighter into the embrace as her own hands weave their way through long, flowing hair. Her nameless lover buries their face into the crook of her neck, licking along her pulse and sending shivers up her spine. Her lover's lips work their way up to her ear, and she waits eagerly for the sweet nothings that will be whispered._

"Wake up, cousin!" Tali Tabris' eyes flew open as she sits up bolt right, only to have her forehead collide with that of her cousin, Shianni. Tali fell back onto the pillow, her hands on her now sore forehead. "Ow! Andraste's ass, that hurt!"

"Why did you wake me up, Shianni?" Tali whined. "I was having a good dream!"

"Yeah? About what?" Tali hesitated, which immediately got Shianni's attention. She climb onto Tali's bed and got right in her face. "Well, what was it about?" Tali felt heat rise to her face as she tried to make up a lie.

"I…uh…I" Shianni gasped in realization.

"You had a _sex_ dream!" she exclaimed, lowering her voice so that Tali's father couldn't hear her as her eyes widened in perverted glee. "Who was he? What did he look like? Was he cute? Was he big? Did he-"

"I don't know!" Tali exclaimed in embarrassment while trying to keep her voice down. "I didn't really get a good look at him. I'm not even sure if he _was_ a he!" Why did she say that? Shianni blinked at Tali a few times as the words sunk in.

"You dreamt you were having sex…with a girl?" she said.

"I don't know!" Tali said. "I never see their face, or hear them speak…"

"Wait, so you've had these dreams before?" Shianni said, looking shocked. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I like hearing stuff like that! Girl or guy, I don't care, just give me the details!"

"There aren't any details!" Tali almost shouted. "I always wake up before anything happens!" Shianni crossed her arms in obvious annoyance.

"Fine, don't tell me," she grumbled. Shianni then smacked herself in the forehead. "Sod it all, I just remembered why I woke you up in the first place! You have to get ready for your wedding!"

"My wedding?" Had Shianni already started drinking? "The wedding isn't for another two days, Shianni."

"It's been changed," Shianni said with a grin. "Your groom is already in Denerim."

"Nelaros is early?" Tali exclaimed, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Yep, and he's handsome, too," Shianni said dreamily. "You get all the luck, cousin."

"If he's here, then I need to get ready!" Tali said, jumping out of bed and making a beeline for her trunk.

"I'll let you get ready," Shianni said. "Oh, Soris wanted to see you once you got ready."

"Okay," Tali said as Shianni left. Tali pulled her wedding dress out of her trunk. It was white silk with fancy embroidering around the edges. It had cost Tali's father thirty silvers to have it made. Everyone in the Alienage had pitched in for it. Tali changed into the dress and began brushing her chin-length blonde hair. She had a piece of a mirror hanging on the wall, and in it she could see her round face and chocolate brown eyes.

Once Tali had gotten as many of the tangles out of her hair as she could, she got on her shoes and left her bedroom. Cyrion, Tali's father, was in the main room waiting for her. His hair was gray, and he had worry lines all across his forehead. He smiled when he saw her in her wedding dress.

"Ah, my little girl," he said, wrapping Tali in a warm hug. "This is the last day I'll be able to call you that. I wish your mother could be here for this. She'd be so proud."

"I miss her too, papa," Tali said, giving him an extra tight squeeze. Tali's mother, Adaia, had been well known throughout all of Denerim. She had originally lived among the Dalish, but had fallen in love with Cyrion. Since then she'd openly defied the shemlens. She'd steal food and clothing for other elves who needed them, and fought off any human who tried to oppress them. Everyone in the Alienage loved Adaia, and everyone mourned when she was killed by nobles ten years ago.

Cyrion backed away and wiped his face, trying to hide the tears from Tali. "Go find Soris. The sooner the wedding begins, the less chance you two have to escape." Soris was also getting married today.

"Okay, papa," Tali giggled, making her way to the front door.

"Oh, one more thing," Cyrion said. Tali stopped to see what he had to say. "Your training; knife work, lock picking, stealing. Try not to mention them to your groom." Adaia had taught Tali at a young age how to fight, sneak, and steal. After Adaia's death, Tali continued to practice what her mother had taught her.

"He'll find out sooner or later," Tali said.

"Later, _definitely_ later!" Cyrion said. "I just don't want him to think you're a trouble maker."

"Okay, papa," Tali said again. While she didn't like keeping her talents hidden, she'd do it for her father. Tali stepped outside into the Alienage. It consisted of a bunch of worn down houses and apartments. A lot of buildings were so run down that no one could live in them. The elves of the Alienage helped each other in any way they could. Many dinners were spent with neighbors, and Cyrion's door was always open to an elf in need.

All over the Alienage, elves were running around, setting up decorations, and in some cases, getting drunk. A majority of the Alienage residents were gathered around the Vhenadahl, the great tree located in the center of the Alienage. Tali figured that if anywhere, Soris would be there. As she made her way towards the Vhenadahl, she was approached by a couple.

"Excuse me," the woman said. "You probably don't know us, but we were friends of your mother. My name is Dilwyn, and this is my husband, Gethon."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tali said with a smile. "Any friend of mama is a friend of mine."

"Yes, well, we wanted you to have this," Gethon said as he handed Tali a coin pouch. "Fifteen silvers. Just a little something to help start off your new life."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Tali said, bowing in gratitude.

"Have a wonderful day, dear," Dilwyn said as she and Gethon walked away. Tali held on to the pouch, seeing as there was no where to put it, and continued search for Soris. She decided to check over by Alarith's shop. As she got closer, she saw Nessa and her family. They were gathered around a small wagon full of what looked like their belongings. Curious, Tali went over to investigate.

"What's going on?" she asked as she approached. Nessa's father turned to her.

"We're leaving," he said. "Can't afford the rent anymore, so we're going Ostagar to work in the King's camp."

"Is there anyway I could help?" Tali asked.

"What could you do to help?" Nessa's father said. "You just worry about your wedding and forget about us." His wife elbowed him in the arm.

"What he means to say," she said, "is that while we appreciate your offer, we'll be just fine."

"Oh, okay," Tali said, feeling a bit discouraged. "Good luck, then." She then continued on past them to Alarith's store.

"Tali, wait!" Tali turned around to see Nessa running towards her. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," Tali said.

"I know my father wants us to go to Ostagar, but I'm afraid to," Nessa said. "I don't want to be stuck in a camp full of humans who haven't seen a woman in months!"

"Well, what if you had some money?" Tali asked. She _did_ have a sack full of silvers. "Would you be able to stay then?"

"Maybe, but that'd take at least ten silvers," Nessa said. "No one here has that kind of money, and even if they did, they wouldn't give it to us."

"Are you sure?" Tali asked with a playful grin. When Nessa gave her a confused look, Tali pushed the money pouch into her hands. "Fifteen silvers!"

"F-fifteen?" Nessa exclaimed. "Are you really giving me this?" When Tali nodded, Nessa threw her arms around Tali's neck. "Oh, thank you so much, this is more than enough for us to stay! You're the best, I love you!" She then let go of Tali. "Now I just have to convince father to let us stay. Thanks again!" She then ran back to her family. Tali was happy that Nessa and her family would be staying.

Remembering what she had been doing in the first place, Tali turned and went into Alarith's store. Alarith mostly carried food, but he sometimes had other things. A quick survey of the store showed that Soris wasn't there.

"Alarith, have you seen Soris?" Tali asked.

"Nope. I was actually just about to close up for the wedding," Alarith said. "Which means I'll need you to go. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks, bye!" Tali said as she left the store. This was starting to get a little frustrating. Maybe if she climbed the Vhenadahl she could spot him. No, papa said not to make herself seem like a trouble maker. Plus, she didn't want to ruin her dress. Just then she saw red hair off in the distance. Since there were only two people in the Alienage with hair that red, Tali was betting that it was Soris. As she got closer, she saw that she was right.

Soris and Shianni were brother and sister, and they both looked very similar. They both had the same red hair, and they both kept their hair fairly short, though Shianni liked to put braids in her hair. Soris was wearing a fancy outfit for his wedding, and he looked like he'd rather wear anything else. Maybe it was uncomfortable? Or maybe he didn't really want to get married, like Tali? While she'd go through an arranged marriage for her father, Tali really wished she didn't have to.

"Hi Soris," she said, getting his attention. He smiled when he saw her, but Tali could tell it was somewhat forced.

"Hello, cousin," Soris said. "Looks like the big day came a little early, huh?"

"Is it to late to run away?" Tali asked jokingly.

"Yeah right, and go where, to the Dalish?" Soris said sarcastically.

"Why not?" Tali said. In truth, she'd give almost anything to meet the Dalish, just to see what her mother left behind.

"How about that Demon of the Dales everyone's been talking about?" Soris said. There had been stories going around in the last couple of years about a Dalish woman who fought like a dwarven bezerker. Some people who have seen her have claimed to see fire burning in her eyes, and that she had fangs like a beast, hence the title Demon. "Besides, why would _you_ want to run?" Soris continued, changing the subject from the Dalish. "Your groom sounds like a dream. My bride sounds like a dying mouse."

"I'm sure she's nice," Tali said encouragingly. Soris laughed.

"Great, I get to spend the next fifty years with a _nice_ girl who hides grain away for the winter!" Tali laughed at Soris' joke. "Come on, let's see if we can find our fiancés." Tali and Soris started walking around the Alienage, looking for anyone who might possibly be their betrotheds, even though Tali had no idea what they looked like. They saw Shianni waving them over, standing next to two elves, a man and a woman, whom Tali didn't recognize. Tali and Soris started to make their way over to them when trouble started.

A group of human nobles walked into the Alienage, their leader walking up to a random woman and grabbing her from behind. She struggled and the human shoved her away, laughing as she fell over.

"Everyone grab a whore and have a good time!" he said before turning to Shianni. "My, aren't you a lovely thing?" He took a step towards her, a lecherous leer on his face.

"Touch me and I'll gut you, shem!" Shianni said threateningly.

"Oh ho, I'm going to have fun with you," the human said, unfazed by Shianni's threat. Tali had to do something before Shianni got herself in trouble. But as she took a step forward, Soris grabbed her arm.

"I know that look," he said. "Don't do anything reckless."

"Shianni's going to get herself hurt!" Tali said.

"Let's at least try to be diplomatic about it," Soris said before letting go of Tali's arm. Tali made her way over to the human, planning her course of action in her head. She'd avoid an open confrontation if she could, but if it came to blows, she'd have to take him out quickly before his friends could help him. The human noticed her approach and leered at her.

"What's this?" he said. "Another lovely young thing come to offer herself to me?"

"How about we talk about this," Tali said, politely but firmly. "We don't want any trouble." The human scoffed at her.

"Do you know who I am?" he said, fixing her with a glare that was probably meant to be intimidating.

"No, nor do I care," Tali said, giving him a glare of her own, one that her mother had taught her. Her father used to call it the 'Dalish eyes'. The look seemed to be working, as the human was having a hard time looking at her directly, but Tali saw Shianni move from the corner of her eyes. She averted her gaze just enough to see Shianni creeping up behind the human with a whiskey bottle. The human must've noticed Tali look away, because he turned around, only for the bottle to hit him in the temple with a loud _thunk_. Upon impact, the human crumpled, unconscious, to the ground. Everyone present stared at the unconscious noble for a brief moment before one of his lackeys spoke up.

"Oi, do you know what you've done?" he said. "That was Vaughn Urien, the Arl of Denerim's son!" Shianni dropped the whiskey bottle and covered her mouth her eyes wide with horror.

"I had no idea!" she said. Tali stepped in between her and the other humans, just in case they attacked them.

"Look, things got out of hand," she said, giving diplomacy another try. "If you don't mention this to anyone, we won't tell the guards what Vaughn tried to do." It was a bluff. Odds were the guards wouldn't care, but Tali was hoping the mere mention of them would discourage Vaughn's lackeys from causing any more of a scene.

"You've got a lot of nerve, knife-ears!" the human said. "You'll get yours, just you wait!" He and another then picked up Vaughn and carried him off, the rest of the group close behind. Once they left, Shianni put a hand over her face.

"I really messed up this time, didn't I?" she said. Soris put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright," he said. "Vaughn won't tell anyone that he got knocked out by an elf woman."

"I hope you're right," Shianni sighed. "I'm gonna go get a drink." Shianni walked off, and the two other elves approached them, both looking unnerved.

"What was that about?" the man asked. He was very handsome, with short, light blonde hair, light green eyes, and a chiseled face. Could this be Nelaros? Soris gave a small laugh to try and lighten the mood.

"Looks like the arl's son started drinking early." Soris then cleared his throat and gestured to the woman. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and a somewhat mousy appearance. "Tali, this is my bride, Valora." Valora smiled at her, which Tali returned. She then turned to the man.

"And this handsome man must be Nelaros?" she said. Nelaros blushed and gave an embarrassed smile.

"I'm a lucky man to be greeted so warmly," he said. Soris cleared his throat again.

"Come on, Valora. Let's give them a moment to get to know each other," he said.

"Okay," Valora replied, and she and Soris walked off a short distance. For a moment Tali and Nelaros said nothing, just stared at the ground or off to the side.

"So," Tali began, feeling that she should say _something_. "How was the trip from Highever?"

"Uneventful, for the most part," Nelaros said. "The bandits left us alone, probably because we didn't have anything worth stealing." More awkward silence, though not as long as before. "Are you nervous?" Nelaros asked.

"A little," Tali admitted. Nelaros gave a slight chuckle, and Tali wondered what was so funny.

"Me too," he said. "I thought I'd stay calm about all of this, but now that I've met you, I'm…well, _not_ calm." Tali blushed. Nelaros then took one of her hands into both of his and gave her the warmest, most sincere smile a man had ever given Tali. "I will spend every moment for the rest of my life learning to make you happy." Tali felt her heart beat faster, her blush deepen, and her knees go weak. Was this what love felt like?

"Nelaros," Valora said as she and Soris returned. "We still need to go see Valendrian." Valendrian was the harhen, or leader, of the Alienage. Valora then turned and kissed Soris on the cheek, turning it as red as his hair. "You two don't run off, now," she said.

"Or we'll find you!" Nelaros said jokingly, making Tali giggle, before walking off with Valora.

"Or we'll find you?" Soris repeated, raising his eyebrow. "Does he even realize how creepy that sounded?" He then looked past Tali and his face fell. "Uh oh, another human just showed up." Tali turned around and saw that Soris was right. Why were so many humans taking an interest in elves _today_?

The human had black hair tied back into a tail and a beard, as well as tanned skin, from what Tali could see from that distance. He was wearing plate armor and had a pair of blades strapped to his back. He seemed to be talking to someone Tali couldn't see. She was about to walk over and see what he was doing in the Alienage, when an elf girl stepped into view. She had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, was wearing yellow mage robes, and was carrying an ivory staff. Blue markings obscured her face somewhat, but that didn't stop Tali from recognizing her.

"Wait a minute," Soris said, seeming to have recognized the girl as well. "Isn't that…"

"Avarielle!" Tali called out. Avarielle turned as she heard her name called, and her face lit up when she saw Tali. The two girls ran towards each other and hugged each other as soon as they were in arm's reach. They just stood there, jumping up and down and squealing with joy. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" Tali said, pulling away enough to look at Avarielle's face. "What are you doing here?"

"That would be _my_ doing," the human said, having already made his way over. "My name is Duncan, Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens. I was a friend of your mother," he said, giving a slight bow. "When Avarielle told me what happened to Adaia, I wanted to see how you and Cyrion were doing."

"And guess what?" Avarielle said, looking giddy. "I've been recruited to be a Grey Warden!" Tali put a her hands over her mouth in surprise.

"That's amazing!" Tali said. "I'm getting married today!" Avarielle gave a confused look.

"To who? I didn't think you liked any of the boys here," she said.

"His name is Nelaros," Tali said, smiling as she thought of his handsome face and his warm smile. "I only just met him. He came from Highever where he worked as a blacksmith's assistant." Tali was unable to repress the dreamy sigh that escaped her lips. "He's very handsome, and very sweet. I…I think I'm in love with him!"

"Aw!" Avarielle said, getting that look she used to get when she thought something was adorable. She then gave Tali a big hug. "That's so wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

"Uh, yeah, I'm getting married, too," Soris said, immediately getting the attention of Avarielle, who until that moment hadn't noticed him.

"Soris, is that really you?" Avarielle said. When Soris simply shrugged Avarielle gave him a hug as well. She then gave him a weird look. "_You're_ getting married?"

"Yep, at the same time as Tali," Soris said. Avarielle winced.

"I need to give your bride my condolences," she said. Tali laughed, and even Duncan gave a chuckle.

"Very funny," Soris said with a frown. It didn't last very long, as Soris gave Avarielle another hug. "It's good to see you again. Now go find Shianni! She'll want to see you, too!"

"Oh, you're right!" Avarielle turned to Duncan. "Can we stay for the wedding?"

"Of course," Duncan said. Avarielle waved to Tali and Soris before running off to find Shianni. Duncan then turned to Tali. "I'm truly sorry to hear what happened to your mother," he said. "Did you know that I tried recruiting her?"

"Really? Mama never told me about that," Tali said. Her mother had almost become a Grey Warden? That was incredible!

"Indeed, she turned down my offer because she had just given birth to you," Duncan said. "I regret to say I haven't seen her since."

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Tali said with a bow. Soris then tapped her on the shoulder.

"It's almost time for the ceremony," he said. "We need to get going before Valendrian comes looking for us."

"Alright," Tali said. She bowed to Duncan again. "It was nice meeting you." She then went with Soris to the center of the Alienage, where there was a podium next to the Vhenadahl. It was mostly used for special occasions, such as weddings. Nelaros and Valora were already up on the podium, along with Valendrian and a priest. Tali and Soris walked up onto the podium and took their places next to their betrotheds.

"Oh good, we were getting worried," Valora said as she beamed up at Soris. Nelaros turned to Tali with a smile.

"You look radiant," he said, making Tali blush again. Valendrian began talking to the crowd, but Tali wasn't listening. She was too busy looking through the crowd. She saw Nessa and her family, Cyrion, Shianni, and finally Avarielle, standing next to Duncan. Valendrian stopped speaking, and the priest began the sermon. That was when everything went bad.

As the priest was speaking, Tali saw Vaughn and his lackeys come around the corner. Everyone was gasping and backing away as Vaughn walked up onto the podium.

"Milord, this is unexpected," the priest said, seeming just as unnerved as everyone else.

"My apologies, Mother," Vaughn said, looking and sounding anything but apologetic. "I'm having a party, but I'm don't seem to have any female guests."

"Milord, this is a wedding!" the priest protested. Vaughn simply scoffed at her.

"You can dress up your pets and have tea parties if you wish, but don't pretend this is a proper wedding," he sneered. His sneer was then replaced with his previous lecherous grin. "Now, we're just trying to have a good time, right boys?"

"Just a good time with the ladies, that's all!" one of Vaughn's lackeys said. Vaughn began pointing out women.

"Take those two, and…the one with the skinny dress, and…" Vaughn looked around like her was searching for something. "Where's the bitch who bottled me?"

"Right here, Vaughn!" one of the men called out, holding Shianni by the arms from behind.

"Let go of me, you shemlen pig!" Shianni screamed, fighting as hard as she could. Tali could take it anymore. She walked up to Vaughn, despite Nelaros' protests.

"Vaughn!" Tali said, getting the noble's attention. "Take me. I'll go willingly, and I'll do whatever you want. Just please, let the others go."

"Well now, that wouldn't be much of a party, would it?" Vaughn said cruelly. "I'm going to have fun with you." The last thing Tali saw was a hand flying to her face, and then everything went dark.

* * *

_A.N./ I didn't think it would take this long to write this chapter. And I know_ _I__ said this would be a yuri fanfic, but come_ _on, what girl _wouldn't_ go weak in the knees from Nelaros' declaration of devotion? Hell, I intend to use that line one of these days!_

_Hikari86 and I are having a spotlight war. Read her fanfics, or no fifth chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Well, it took longer than I thought it would, but here it is. This is the last chapter of Tali's Origin._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

The first thing Tali was aware of was an intense throbbing in the side of her head. She could hear someone talking, as well as what sounded like someone praying over and over again.

"Quiet, I think she's waking up." Was that Shianni? Tali slowly opened her eyes to see Shianni's face hovering over hers. "Are you okay?"

"Ow," was all Tali could say.

"You usually dodge better than that," Shianni said. "That one's gonna hurt for a while." Tali sat up carefully and looked around. She and Shianni were in a small stone room with Valora and two other elf women. Tali recognized one of them as Nola, who looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack, but not the other one, the one who was praying.

"Where are we?" Tali asked. She had a pretty good idea of where they were, but Adaia had taught her never to assume.

"We're at Vaughn's estate," Valora said. "The guards put us here until that…bastard is ready for us!" That's what Tali was afraid of. As much as the thought had disgusted her, she had been hoping that Vaughn would've taken her up on her offer and taken only her.

"We need to get out of here," Tali said as she stood up.

"Well forgive me if I don't hold my breath!" Nola said hysterically. "We should just do whatever they want!"

"She's right," Valora said. "It'll be worse if we resist."

"It'll be worse if we don't!" Shianni said indignantly. All of a sudden Tali could here voices from outside the room they were in. They sounded like they were coming closer.

"Listen, just do what they tell you," Tali said, earning an incredulous look from Shianni. "I'll figure out some way to get us out of here." At that moment the door opened and a guard, a captain from the looks of him, walked in with his sword drawn, flanked by four other guards. The girl Tali didn't recognize stood up as the lead guard approached.

"Stay away from us!" she pleaded, and the guard answered her plea by slashing her throat open. The girl gurgled as she fell to the floor in a bloody heap. Valora and Nola both gasped in horror when this happened.

"You…you killed her!" Nola said, as if she couldn't believe that the guard had really done it.

"Whoops," the guard said with a twisted grin. "I guess that's what happens when you try to teach whores respect." He gestured to two of the other guards. "You two take the homely bride and the drunk, and I'll take the one cowering in the corner. You two," he continued, turning to the other two guards, "keep an eye on the blonde. Vaughn wants to save her for last." He and the first two guards took Shianni, Valora, and Nola, Shianni struggling the whole time, flinging threats and curses in equal measure.

'_Don't fight them, Shianni,'_ Tali thought. _'I'll find a way to save you.'_ But first she had to get past the two guards left to watch her, who were currently approaching her and leering at her lecherously.

"Now, you be a good little whore, and do what we say," the closer one said. Tali backed up until she hit the wall.

"Say back, I don't want to hurt you," Tali warned them. Already she was planning out how she was going to do things. If she could cripple the first guard, maybe break his kneecap once he got close enough, she could focus her attention on the other guard.

"You, hurt us?" the further guard laughed. "I think we should break her in for Vaughn, how about you?"

"I agree."

"Um, hello." The guards turned around, and Tali looked around them. Soris was standing in the doorway, a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. _'What's Soris doing here?'_ Tali thought.

"Well, would you look at that," the guard closest to Tali said, turning completely towards Soris. "An elf with a stolen sword." Soris raised the dagger and hurled it towards the guard, who moved out of the way, allowing Tali to catch it. "Oh sod." That was all he had time to say as Tali slashed his throat open. Tali stepped around him as he fell forward, putting him between herself and the other guard, who was beginning to draw his sword and shield. Before he could draw them all the way, Tali gave her wrist a flick, and sent the dagger hurtling through the air and into the guard's throat. He made a cough-like sound before falling to the ground.

As the second guard fell, Tali turned to Soris to see him standing with his sword raised and an astonished look on his face, like he had been about to start fighting, but never got the chance. Tali ran up to Soris and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're alright, cousin," Soris said. He then held Tali out at arm's length, a worried look on his face. "Where are the others?"

"Some guards took them to Vaughn's room," Tali said. She went over to the guard she had thrown the dagger at and pulled it out of his throat. "If we hurry, we can save them." Se then stopped and looked at the dagger in her hand. "Where did you get these weapons, Soris?"

"That Grey Warden, Duncan, gave them to me and Nelaros."

"Nelaros is here?" Tali exclaimed.

"Yeah, he's guarding the hallway up ahead." Tali felt her heart flutter; she barely knew Nelaros, and yet he was risking his life to save her. But there was one thing that confused her.

"Why didn't Duncan come?" Tali asked. _'And why didn't Avarielle come?'_

"He said Grey Wardens couldn't interfere. Something about staying neutral," Soris said. "Avarielle liked to have a fit when he told her she couldn't help. Who's that?" Tali didn't have to look to know Soris was looking at the dead girl's body.

"I don't know. Come on, we have to hurry!"

"Alright, give me a moment." Soris walked up to the guard Tali was standing next to and took the shield off his back and strapped it to his arm. "Alright, let's go."

The two of them exited the small room, coming into the kitchen. The cook was nowhere to be seen, so they went straight through the next door into the mess room, only to be greeted by four off-duty guards eating. When they saw Tali and Soris in the doorway with weapons, they all jumped up and drew their own weapons.

"Where'd you get the weapons, elf?" one of them asked. Tali scrambled for any sort of excuse that could get her and Soris out of the mess they were in.

"I, uh…he was…sod it." Tali flung the dagger at one of the guards in the middle, turning her attention to the one on the far left even as it left her hand and embedded itself in the guard's throat. Ducking under a swing from the guard's sword, she disarmed him and took the sword, lopping off his head with it. She turned in time to defend herself from an overhead swing from another guard. Just behind him Tali could see Soris fending off the final guard. Tali parried another blow from the guard she was fighting and stabbed him in the heart. She was about to rush to Soris' aid when he managed to ram his shield into the guard and knock him over, leaving him open for Soris to finish him. He then turned to Tali with a weird look.

"Did you just say _sod_?"

"Not now, Soris," Tali said. She dropped the sword she was holding and retrieved the dagger from the first guard's throat. She could hear voices through the open door at the far end of the mess room, so she rushed over to it, briefing looking through it before slamming it shut. In the brief moment she looked through, Tali had seen two guards, one with a sword, and the other with a crossbow. Tali pressed herself against the wall to the right of the door and held her dagger at the ready. She held up a hand to stop Soris as he made his way to her.

The door flew open as the guard with the sword came through and saw Soris. Before he could make a move to attack her cousin, Tali jammed the dagger into his throat, moving around him and into the hallway. The guard with the crossbow's eyes widened as she charged him. Tali threw the dagger forward to intercept the bolt that was fired at her, and then snatched it out of the air while the guard hurriedly tried to reload. Tali grabbed the crossbow and pushed it down out of the way as she buried the dagger in the guard's chest. Pulling it back out, Tali threw herself against the wall to the left of the next door and waited for Soris to catch up.

When Soris came out into the hallway, Tali signaled him to stand at the other side of the door. When he did, Tali motioned for him to open the door slightly, which Soris did. Tali crouched low and peeked around the doorframe. The hallway the door led into appeared to be empty, so Tali motioned for Soris to follow her. They made their way down the hallway, ducking behind doorframes periodically.

"Nelaros is in the room up ahead," Soris informed Tali. Tali nodded and picked up the pace. She wanted to see Nelaros so badly it almost made her forget where she was and what she was doing. When Tali reached the end of the hallway, she threw the door open. Nelaros was standing in the middle of the small room with a sword in his hand. He turned and raised the sword when the door opened, but stopped when he saw who it was.

"Tali!" Nelaros ran to Tali and threw his arms around in a tight hug while Tali did the same, nuzzling her face into his chest. "I was so worried about you! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I won't, I promise," Tali said, and she meant it. This was someone she could give up her training to be with. Here was a man she could spend her life with, and have children with. With Nelaros, Tali would never have to fight again, never have to steal. Never be alone. "I love you, Nelaros." Nelaros pulled back enough to look into Tali's eyes and give her that warm smile.

"I love you, too." And then he kissed her. It was soft and loving, and made Tali feel warm and fuzzy. It was different from when Tali and Avarielle used to practice kissing each other. Those kisses had made Tali feel good, too, but this kiss meant something.

"Uh, I'm still here," Soris said. Tali broke the kiss, feeling equally embarrassed and chagrined; kissing Nelaros had momentarily made her forget where she was and what she was doing. Shianni was in trouble, and Tali was standing around kissing Nelaros! Soris seemed to read the look on Tali's face. "We need to hurry up and find the others, before something happens to them!"

At that moment the door on the other side of the room opened, and the captain from before, still flanked by the other two guards, came through it. The captain seemed startled at first to see three elves with weapons, one of them covered in blood, but his surprised look was quickly replaced with a cold sneer.

"Well looky here, boys!" he said. "A couple of rats have snuck in!"

"Stay behind me!" Nelaros said, pushing Tali behind him.

"Trust me, you'll want her in _front_," Soris said, moving up next to Nelaros with sword and shield ready. "She could probably take them all on herself." Tali kept quiet, already knowing what she was going to do. The captain drew his sword while the other guards drew their own weapons, one of them having a sword and shield, and the other having a pair of daggers.

"Kill 'em, boys," the captain said.

"What about the girl?" one of the guards asked. "I thought Vaughn wanted to have some fun with her?"

"We'll just say she gave us no choice," the captain said, a cruel grin on his face. "Not like Vaughn would really give a damn. He didn't complain when we didn't bring the other whore in. Now, do as you're told and kill them!"

Both of the guards ran forward while Nelaros and Soris did the same. Tali darted off to the side, attempting to get around them all and go straight for the captain. This didn't go unnoticed by the guard with the daggers, who immediately cut her off. Soris went after the guard with the sword and shield, leaving Nelaros to deal with the captain.

Tali parried blow after blow. The guard she was fighting was sluggish and poorly trained, but that didn't mean she could let her guard down. With his two daggers to her one, he could attack more often than her, so Tali had to be faster than him. She glanced away for just a moment to see how the others were doing, and became worried; Soris was handling his opponent pretty well in one corner, but Nelaros was in trouble in another. He was a good fighter, better than Tali would've thought, but it was obvious that the captain was better trained than his men. If things kept going the way they were, Nelaros was going to lose. Tali saw her opportunity to attack and went on the offensive, driving her enemy back with a series feints and attacks. The guard managed to catch Tali's dagger in a cross block, which left him just as disabled as her. Tali was about to pull back and try again when she saw Nelaros take a hit to the leg out of the corner of her eye. Nelaros reflexively put his hands over the wound, and the captain slashed his throat open.

"_Nelaros!_" Tali raised her leg and stomped down on the guard's knee, feeling it give way under her foot. The guard screamed as he fell to his knees, leaving him open for Tali to drive the dagger under his chin and into his skull. She then charged the captain, ducking under a swing that would've otherwise taken off her head and stabbing him in the side. She then kicked off the wall behind the captain and jumped on his back, plunging the dagger into the place where neck and shoulder met. Bringing the captain to his knees, Tali pulled the dagger out slightly and angled it so that the second plunge would send it through his throat and out the front. Then with jerk, she ripped the dagger out the front of his throat as blood splattered out onto the floor in front of him. Tali dropped the dagger and rushed over to Nelaros.

"Nelaros!" Tali dropped to her knees next to him and held his face. He was still alive, but he was fading fast. Blood poured from the open cut in his throat, and he made gurgling sounds as more blood bubbled up out of his mouth. "I'm so sorry, Nelaros," Tali cried, tears streaming down her face. "This is all my fault. If I had been better, faster, this wouldn't have happened." Nelaros reached up with one hand and cupped the left side of Tali's face, and Tali held it against her cheek. Nelaros' other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He held it out to Tali, and Tali gingerly took it.

It was made of gold, and had an inscription on it, and Tali felt her heart break as she read it. It read, _Forever mine, forever yours._ Tali slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand and did her best to smile at Nelaros through the tears as she cupped his face with the hand.

"Forever mine, forever yours," she said, her voice cracking. Nelaros' eyes filled with the warmth from before, before the light in his eyes went out, and his hand fell limp against his body.

Tali shut her eyes tight, trying to fight back the sorrow that threatened to overtake her. She wanted to curl up in a corner and cry, cry until she couldn't cry any more, cry for the man she had only just begun to love, but she couldn't. Shianni was still in trouble, and so were Valora and Nola. Every second Tali wasted gave Vaughn more time to do unspeakable things to them. Tali pulled herself to her feet and retrieved her dagger. She turned towards Soris, who had long since defeated his opponent.

"Come on, we have to hurry," Tali said, and her voice sounded strained even to herself. Without waiting to see if Soris was following her, Tali took of through the door the guards had come through.

Tali ran down the hallway and saw a guard with a crossbow come around the corner. He jumped when he saw her and fired a bolt at her, which Tali sidestepped, never breaking stride as dug her foot into the carpet and smashed her other foot into the guard's knee, knocking out of it's socket, bringing the guard to his knees. Tali slipped behind him and held her dagger at his throat.

"Where are Vaughn's chambers?!" Tali yelled, putting as much force into it as she could. It seemed to be enough, as the guard pointed down the hallway to the door he must have been guarding.

"Through there and at the end of the next hallway, you can't miss it!" he screamed in fear. Tali slit the man's throat and sprinted down the hallway, throwing the door open and entering the next hallway. There weren't any guards present, and she could here screaming coming from the closed door at the far end. Tali threw the door open and stepped into the large bedroom.

There were two humans at the foot of the large four-poster bed just to the right of the door, and both of them jumped when the door flew open. And _on_ the bed, on top of a naked and tied up Shianni, was an equally naked Vaughn. One look at Shianni, and Tali could see the pain she was in, with bruises all over her body and tears streaming down her face. In that moment Tali decided; Vaughn had to die.

Tali threw her dagger at the closer of the two clothed humans, who stumbled to away from the bed and causing the dagger to embed itself in one of the posts. Not missing a beat, Tali ran forward and grabbed the dagger while kicking herself off the bedpost and onto the human and plunging the dagger into his neck. The human hit the floor and Tali rolled forward off of him, narrowly avoiding being hit by a candle pole. Coming up to her knees, Tali threw the dagger into the second human's unguarded right side, making him drop the candle pole. Tali ran up and kneed him in the groin, causing him to double over. She pulled the dagger out of his side and stabbed him in the back on his left side, straight into the heart. Throwing down the body, Tali stared straight ahead at Vaughn.

At some point during the small scuffle, Vaughn had gotten off the bed. Unfortunately for him, he was on the same side of the bed as Tali. He held both of his hands out in front of himself, making no attempt to hide his now thankfully flaccid member.

"Now hold on, you don't to do this," Vaughn said, trying to negotiate his way out of the situation he was in. "Kill me, and my father will send the entire Alienage up in flames. Is that really what you want?" Tali kept quiet, waiting for the right moment to throw her dagger at him. If she missed because he dodged it, she'd be without a weapon, and no amount of training could change the fact that she was tiny, and that Vaughn was both bigger and stronger than her. She had to make this count.

"Tali!" Soris came into the room at that moment, and stopped when he saw the two dead humans on the floor. Vaughn looked away for just a moment, but it was all the opening Tali needed as she hurled the dagger into his throat. Vaughn raised a hand to his throat as blood poured from it and his mouth. He gave Tali a look of disbelief as he fell to his knees, as if he never really believed that she'd do it. With one final gurgle Vaughn fell forward onto the floor.

Tali waited a moment before approaching Vaughn's corpse, just in case he wasn't truly dead. She nudged him with her foot, and when he didn't stir, Tali let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Tali pulled the dagger out of Vaughn's throat and wiped it clean on the bed sheets before cutting the ropes around Shianni's feet and then hands. Putting the dagger down on a nightstand next to the bed, Tali gingerly placed a hand on Shianni's quivering shoulder. Shianni flinched slightly, but otherwise made no other move to get away, so Tali began to stroke her hair soothingly. She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder, and turned to see Soris.

"I'm gonna go look in the back for the others," he said. Tali nodded to him and returned her attention to Shianni.

"It's alright, Shianni," Tali said softly, trying to calm her cousin down. "Everything's going to be okay. No one's going to hurt you anymore." Shianni turned over to look at Tali, and Tali could see the raw fear and pain in her eyes.

"Is he gone? Did you kill him?" Tali nodded, and Shianni's eyes turned steely. "Good," she said, and her voice was cold.

"I found Valora." Tali turned to see Soris walking back into the room through a door she hadn't noticed earlier, with Valora close behind.

"Come and carry Shianni," Tali said. "And find something to cover her with."

"She can use my shirt," Soris said, taking it off as he walked over to the bed.

"I found her smalls," Valora said, bringing the article of clothing over. Tali helped Shianni sit up so she could put the clothes on, stepping in front of her so she couldn't see Vaughn's dead body. Soris kept his back to Shianni while she put on her smalls and his shirt, and then lifted her up in his arms.

"Please, just take me home," Shianni said.

"Yes, let's go home," Tali said.

"I'll take the back," Soris said. "Come on, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

* * *

Avarielle was nervous; it had been almost three hours since Soris and Nelaros went after Vaughn, and they hadn't returned. She wished Duncan had at least let her help them, instead of insisting that the Grey Wardens' must stay neutral. Avarielle wanted to argue that she wasn't a Grey Warden _yet_, but she figured that wouldn't work on Duncan. Valor didn't like the situation either; Vaughn using his position as a noble to get what he wanted, the elves' unwillingness to do anything, and even Duncan's insistence on neutrality were all seen as cowardice in the spirit's eyes. It had taken all of Avarielle's willpower to keep the spirit in check.

"They're coming!" someone cried out, and Avarielle ran to see who it was. She could see Tali in the lead, followed by Soris, Shianni, and Valora. Nelaros and the other two girls were nowhere to be seen.

Avarielle ran to meet Tali, and as she got closer she saw that Tali was covered with blood, and that Soris was shirtless. Upon closer inspection she saw that Shianni was wearing Soris' shirt. When Avarielle got within arm's reach of Tali she pulled her into a hug, despite all the blood on her dress.

"I was so worried!" Avarielle said, pulling back enough to look at Tali's face. Tali looked exhausted, not physically but emotionally, like she'd lost the most important thing in the world to her. "What happened? Where're the other girls, and where's Nelaros?" Tali's mouth formed a tight line, and her eyes started to water. When Tali buried her face into Avarielle's neck and started crying, Avarielle knew what had happened.

"Can _you_ tell us what happened, Soris?" Avarielle looked to her left to see that harhen Valendrian was the one speaking. Duncan had made his way over to them, as well.

"Nelaros and the other two girls are dead," Soris told him.

"And what of the Arl's son?" Duncan asked.

"I killed him," Tali said, pulling away from Avarielle and wiping the tears from her eyes. Avarielle was surprised to hear this. She'd never imagined that Tali would ever actually kill someone!

"Then the garrison could already be on their way," Duncan said.

"Valora, could you take Shianni home?" Valendrian said.

"Yes, harhen," Valora said, and she led Shianni away. Avarielle turned to Tali, and despite how emotional she was at the moment, Avarielle simply had to ask.

"Did you really kill him?" Tali's silence spoke volumes.

It was only a few minutes later that a group of city guards walked into the Alienage, just as Duncan said they would. Valendrian stepped forward to greet them.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, feigning ignorance of the situation.

"You know bloody well what, elf," the captain of the group said. "The Arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that runs through the entire estate! Our sources tell us that a group of elves were seen leaving the estate, and I demand that you give them up!" Everyone present remained quiet. Despite their unwillingness to help Nelaros and Soris save Tali and the other girls, no one seemed willing to hand them over, either. After a moment's silence, Tali stepped forward.

"I did it, ser," she said, surprising everyone present. "I killed Vaughn Urien to save my friends, and I acted alone."

"You expect me to believe that _you_ killed all of those men on your own?" the captain said, obviously not believing what Tali said.

"Not all of us are helpless," Valendrian said. "This girl is the daughter of Adaia." The captain took another look at Tali as if she'd grown a second head.

"That would make sense, then," he said. "I applaud your courage, girl, but I do not envy your fate. Take her into custody, men!"

"A moment, ser," Duncan said, stepping forward and next to Tali. "Perhaps I could persuade you to release her into _my_ custody?"

"Absolutely not, Warden," the captain said. "The Arl would see this one hanged."

"Then in that case, I hereby invoke the Right of Conscription," Duncan said, surprising everyone, especially Avarielle. Was he really willing to Conscript Tali just to save her? The captain threw his hands up in frustration.

"Fine, take her!" he said. "Just get her out of the city by tonight!" The guards started walking away, the captain mumbling some very explicit curses, one of them involving Duncan shoving his sword somewhere unpleasant. Once the guards had left, Tali turned to Duncan.

"Thank you, but why did you do that?" Avarielle was wondering that, too.

"In truth, my whole reason for being in Denerim was to recruit you," Duncan said. "That doing so saved your life was merely circumstance." So _that_ was why Duncan insisted on coming to Denerim!

"But why me?" Tali asked, seeming confused.

"You are Adaia's daughter," Duncan said, as if that was reason enough. "I thought that if I couldn't recruit her, then I could at least recruit her daughter. If the blood on your dress is anything to go by, you are at the very least your mother's equal in skill."

"I…I'm honored," Tali said hesitantly. "But what about my family, and the people in the Alienage? What will happen to them?"

"We will be fine, young one," Valendrian said, giving Tali a reassuring smile.

"Go say your goodbyes, but be quick," Duncan said. "We have a long road ahead of us, and I'm supposed to have you out of Denerim by nightfall."

"Alright. Oh," Tali held the dagger she'd been holding the whole time to Duncan. "Thank you for the weapons, we wouldn't have made it out without them."

"Yes, thank you," Soris said, handing Duncan the sword he'd been carrying. He then turned to Tali. "I'm going home to check on Shianni and Valora. Make sure you say goodbye before you leave."

"I will," Tali said. She then turned and started walking towards her home.

* * *

Tali stood outside her door, too scared to go in. What was she going to say to her father? Tali supposed she'd simply have to tell him everything. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside. Cyrion was sitting at the table with his head in his hand, but he looked up when Tali walked in. The relief on his face was evident when he saw his daughter walking in. Cyrion immediately jumped up and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Oh, my little girl," he cried, and he sounded like her on the verge of tears. He then pulled back to look at her, concern etched across his face. "What happened? Are you alright?" Tali took another breath.

"Papa, we need to talk." Tali spent the next couple of minutes telling her father everything that happened, right up to her being conscripted. By the end of the story Cyrion had his head back in his hands, which he was shaking.

"I was afraid this would happen, as soon as I found out Duncan was here," he said. He then got up from the table, a determined look on his face. "Wait here, I have to get something." He then walked to his room and shut the door. When he came back out, he was carrying a parcel tied with string.

"What's that, papa?" Tali asked. She had been in her father's room before, and she had never seen the parcel before.

"This is something your mother had put aside for you after you were born," Cyrion said. Placing the parcel on the table and untying it. "I think Adaia might've known this day would come." He opened the parcel to reveal a dagger and a set of green leather armor.

The armor consisted of a breast band, a skirt, gloves, and boots, and the hilt of the dagger was wrapped in smooth black leather, it's sheath made of black wood. Tali picked the dagger up and unsheathed it. It was dragon bone, and had a curved shape and a hook near the hilt.

"It's called 'Fang,'" Cyrion said as Tali examined it. "It was the dagger your mother had when she first came to the Alienage, as was the armor."

"I…I don't know what to say," Tali said. Had her mother really meant for her to have this?

"Adaia told me that the armor was enchanted," Cyrion said. "It's supposed to protect you, even around the middle where there's no armor. I'm not sure, myself, but then again I know nothing of Dalish craftsmanship. Go ahead and try them on."

"Okay." Tali took the armor and Fang to her room and changed. She thought the armor would be difficult to put on, but it was a lot simpler than it looked. At first she felt uncomfortable with her midsection and most of her legs exposed, until she looked at herself in the mirror.

The girl she saw didn't look like her. She looked like a Dalish. Tali wondered if this was what her mother looked like when she was her age, wearing this armor. She took Fang and attached it to the leather skirt at the small of her back, with the hilt pointing to the right for easy access. She left Nelaros' ring on her finger. Taking yet another deep breath, Tali stepped out of her room. When Cyrion saw her, he smiled like he was the proudest father in the world.

"Ah, you're the spitting image of your mother," he said, pulling Tali into a hug. "Your mother would be proud of you, as am I. Never forget that." Tali gave her father a squeeze and buried her face into his chest.

"I love you, papa," she said.

"I love you, too," Cyrion said before letting go. "Now, go see your cousins before you go. Shianni will never forgive you if you don't."

"Yes papa." Tali left her house and made her way to where Soris and Shianni lived. When she walked into the house, she saw Soris and Valora sitting at the table. Soris raised an eyebrow when he saw Tali in her new armor.

"Where did _that_ come from?" he asked.

"It belonged to mama," Tali replied. "Is Shianni okay?"

"Yeah, she's in her room," Soris said. Tali nodded and made her way over to Shianni's room. Shianni was sitting on her bed staring at the floor, so Tali took a seat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shianni said. "I keep thinking about what that bastard did to me. I don't care how much trouble it gets us in, I'm glad you killed him." Shianni glanced over at Tali And her armor and seemed to put two and two together. "So, you're leaving?" Tali nodded.

"I've been recruited to become a Grey Warden."

"They're lucky to have you," Shianni said. She then turned and gave Tali a hug. "I love you, cousin."

"I love you, too, Shianni," Tali said, returning the hug.

"Now, go and show those shemlen what you're made of," Shianni said with a smile.

"I will," Tali said. She then got up and left the room so she could say goodbye to Soris and Valora. She started with Soris, giving him a hug.

"Good luck, cousin," he said. "You've always been my hero. It's just official now."

"Goodbye, Soris," Tali said. She then turned to Valora. "Be good to Soris."

"I will, I promise," Valora said with a smile. Tali gave her a hug before heading out the door. She made her way back to where Duncan and Avarielle were waiting for her. Avarielle looked surprised to she Tali in the Dalish armor, but Duncan merely smiled fondly, like he was looking at an old friend.

"You look just like your mother did," he said. "Are you ready to go?" Tali nodded.

"I am."

* * *

_A.N./I know Soris shows up with a crossbow in the game, but on one of my playthroughs I checked his skills and found that he had shield bash, so I gave him a sword and shield to see how it went. It was my fastest playthrough ever. Hence Soris using a sword and shield in this chapter._

_The next chapter will start off my Dalish Warden's Origin. With any luck it won't take nearly as long as this one._

_Big thanks to Hikari86 for scaring me into speed-writing with threats of a yaoi. I'd also like to thank The Rocket Sumer for their song, 'Break it Out'. Listening to that song over and over again helped me to keep writing long after any other song would've bored me._


	6. Chapter 6

_This is the first chapter of my Dalish character. Enjoy._

_I decided to come back and edit this. The first time around I left out the fight against the bearskarn, but I decided it would be better if I added the fight. Plus there's the fact that one of the humans you meet at the beginning of the Origin mentions a _'demon'_._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

Ralera rushed through the underbrush, bow in hand with an arrow already nocked. She and her hunting partner, Tamlen, had found three shemlen running through the Brecilian Forest near their camp like Fen'Harel was after them. They had split up in order to get around and head them off. She could hear talking up ahead and slowed. Ralera stepped out into the open and took her place next to Tamlen, bow drawn and pointed at the shems he had cornered.

"Good timing, lethallan," Tamlen said, not taking his eyes off the humans in front of them. He had pale blonde hair, brown eyes, and somewhat tanned skin. He had the vallaslin of Dirthamen, the Keeper of Secrets. Vallaslin were the tattoos worn by the Dalish to represent their chosen Creator. "What do you think we should do with these shems?"

"I say we kill them," Ralera replied. There was no way she'd let a bunch of shems go after wandering so close to a Dalish encampment.

"W-wait, we didn't know this was your forest, honest!" one of the shems pleaded.

"This _isn't_ our forest," Tamlen said vehemently. "You've just wandered too close to our camp."

"We didn't want any trouble!" another shem said. "We were just exploring some ruins we found, to see if we could find some treasure!"

"Liar, there aren't any ruins around here!" Ralera shouted. Oh, how she wanted nothing more than to put an arrow between his eyes.

"There are, we swear!" the human said, holding his hands out in front of him like that would make her believe him. "Look, this is what we found!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out some sort of carving. Tamlen relaxed his bow and approached the shemlen, taking the carving out of his hand and walking back to where he'd been standing, looking over the carving. As he looked over it, his brow furrowed.

"Is this Elvish? _Written_ Elvish?" Ralera glanced at Tamlen for a brief moment before returning her gaze to the humans.

"How do you know it's Elvish?" she said suspiciously.

"I've seen something like this in Keeper Marethari's aravel," Tamlen said. Marethari was the Keeper of the Mahariel clan, the clan Ralera and Tamlen were from. Tamlen turned to the three shemlen and held up the carving. "Where did you get this?"

"We told you, we found them in a ruin!" the first one said. "It's about a half mile west of here!"

"We'd have gotten more, but we were attacked by some sort of demon!" the third one said.

"Yeah right," Ralera mumbled. Tamlen looked at the carving for a moment before turning to Ralera.

"Well, lethallan, what do you think we should do with them?"

"I told you already; we kill them." Tamlen grinned as he pocketed the carving.

"I thought you'd say that." He then pulled back on the arrow he already had nocked as Ralera loosed her arrow into the first shemlen's eye. She then drew another arrow as Tamlen shot down the second one, and shot the third one in the back as he tried to run away. They then went about collecting their arrows from the corpses. "So, do you think we should check out those ruins?" Tamlen said as they were collecting their arrows.

"You don't actually believe them, do you?" Ralera said, picking the eyeball off the first arrow she'd fired.

"That tablet had to have come from somewhere," Tamlen said. "What could it hurt?" Ralera put up her second arrow and crossed her arms in thought. Tamlen had a point; if those shemlen had found a carving with written Elvish, then there might be other artifacts. She ran a hand through her short red hair from front to back, a gesture she'd picked up from spending time with Tamlen.

"Fine, we can go look for it," Ralera said, knowing that Tamlen would get her to agree anyway, even if he had to call her a coward. "But I _still_ say they were lying." Tamlen grinned triumphantly at her.

"Come on, I think they said it was to the west of here."

They walked for some time, following the trail of footprints and broken limbs left by the humans. They had been walking for what felt like hours when they came across a series of stone pillars.

"I don't remember this part of the forest," Tamlen said, moving ahead. Ralera moved more cautiously, her hand fingering the Dar'Misu at her back. She hadn't brought her twin Dar'Missans, thinking she wouldn't need them, but now she wished she'd brought them anyway. Being in unfamiliar territory made her edgy, but according to Tamlen, a lot of things made her edgy. "Ralera, come look at this!"

Ralera quickened her pace to catch up with Tamlen, but came to a stop when she saw what he had found. They were standing in front of the entrance to a ruin that looked like it was built into the side of a hill, with stairs at the entrance leading downwards.

"This must be the place. Looks like those shems were telling the truth," Tamlen said. "What do you say we go check it out?"

"You know I don't like being underground, Tamlen," Ralera said.

"I know, but this might be the biggest find in the history of our clan," Tamlen said. "Let's just go inside and look around. If we find anything, we'll go back and tell the Keeper." As much as Ralera hated to admit it, Tamlen was right. The carving alone was an invaluable piece of Dalish history. If there were other, more important artifacts down there, then it'd be worth a little discomfort on Ralera's part.

"Fine, but let's make it quick."

The two descended the stairs into the ruins. It didn't go down as far as Ralera initially thought it would, as the room they came into was somewhat lit by light from small holes near the ceiling. It was bright enough for them to see the old spider webs in the corners of the room and hanging from the ceiling. The spider webs made Ralera wary; spiders in the Brecilian Forest sometimes grew to enormous sizes, and the webs looked like they belonged to such spiders.

"It doesn't look like there's anything in _this_ room," Tamlen said, and Ralera agreed. The only thing that _was_ in the room were webs and some bones, which didn't exactly ease Ralera's edginess. "Come on, let's explore some more." They made their way over to the door on the other side of the room, and Ralera put her hand on the rusty knob.

That's when she heard it; that sinister hiss. Ralera glanced at Tamlen from the corner of her eyes, and the look on his face said that he'd heard it, too. Tamlen slowly reached up to his quiver while Ralera reached behind her for her Dar'Misu. Ralera mouthed out _'One…two…'_

"Three!" Ralera drew her Dar'Misu and turned as Tamlen drew an arrow. There were two spiders, and they both wasted no time in launching themselves at their potential prey. Ralera stabbed the spider jumping at her in the head while stepping out of the way. Using the Dar'Misu for leverage, Ralera drove the spider into the ground and ripped the blade out from between its fangs. The spider reared up on its two back legs, its other six flailing. Ralera stabbed it in the underside of its head and drug the blade down, ichor spilling out of the wound. The spider fell over and writhed for a moment, its eight legs flailing, before it went still.

Ralera wheeled around in search of Tamlen, and found him wrestling with the other spider, almost literally. He was standing behind it holding it upright with his bow up under its two front legs. One of Tamlen's arrows was sticking out of one of the spider's eyes. Tamlen gave Ralera a look, and Ralera ran over and jammed her Dar'Misu down in between its many eyes, while also taking the arrow and shoving it further into the spider's head. She stood there while the spider flailed, its legs beating against her back, and keeping her arms as far away from its fangs as she could. When the spider twitched its last twitch, Ralera pulled her Dar'Misu out of its head and backed away so Tamlen could let it drop. Tamlen then leaned back against one of the pillars to catch his breath.

"That thing almost bit me," Tamlen said. Dalish armor was enchanted to protect the wearer from harm, but it didn't hold up forever, and spider venom could quickly wear down the enchantments and render them ineffective. If anything on the armor had gotten bitten, Tamlen would've had to ask Master Ilen to replace whatever part got bitten. Ilen was the clan's craftsman. He made the armor and weapons used by the hunters of the clan, and he did _not_ like having to replace either every few days because a hunter almost got mauled by a bear, fell out of a tree, or accidentally shot a hornet nest, which tended to happen with some of the younger, less experienced hunters.

"There might be more," Ralera said. "You sure this is worth it?"

"If you had your Dar'Missans, you could kill everything in here yourself," Tamlen replied.

"All the more reason to go back to camp," Ralera countered. Tamlen raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's with you?" Tamlen asked. "You never back down from anything, and here you are all but begging to get out of here!"

"I don't know, okay?" Ralera snapped, and instantly felt a small twinge of regret. "I just…have a bad feeling about this place." It was true, something about the ruins they were in just felt _wrong_. Ralera didn't know what it was, nor did she _want_ to know.

"Listen, we'll look around a bit, and then we'll head back," Tamlen said. "I just wan to see if there's anything worth mentioning to the Keeper."

"Look around us, Tamlen," Ralera said. "The architecture screams 'human', and where in any of harhen Paivel's stories have you heard of elves living underground?"

"With as little as we know of our history, I wouldn't be surprised if elves lived underwater," Tamlen replied. "Maybe we lived in the skies at some point!"

"Sure, and maybe we were created by chickens with human heads," Ralera said sarcastically. Tamlen threw his hands up.

"I'm not going to argue with you, because that would be a death wish," he said. "But I _am_ going to look around, with or without you, so either you can come and back me up, or you can go tell Marethari that I'm spider food." And with that Tamlen opened the door and walked down the hallway. Ralera stood there for a moment with her arms crossed, before cursing in Elvish and following Tamlen through the door.

"Out of the way," she said, pushing past Tamlen, "better fighter coming through."

"After you, princess," Tamlen said.

"_Don't_ call me princess!" Ralera said. "Now come on, let's find something valuable and get out." The two of them continued on through the ruins, finding nothing but bones, webs, and a few spiders, which they quickly dispatched. They came across another door, and they took their respective places on either side of the door. Ralera placed a hand on the knob while Tamlen nocked an arrow. Ralera slowly turned the knob and eased the door open slightly. Tamlen peered into the next room through the crack.

"Clear," he said quietly. He then raised an eyebrow, as well as his voice. "Hey, check this out!" Before Ralera knew it, Tamlen had gone through the door.

"_What are you doing?_" Ralera said in a hushed tone, cautiously following Tamlen through the door and into a narrow hallway with a right turn halfway down. A quick scan showed that there weren't any spiders, just more bones near the turn and a statue against the left wall, which Tamlen was studying. "There could've been something behind that corner, you idiot!"

"There was," Tamlen said, "A _door_. Take a look at this statue." Ralera glanced around the corner just to make sure. Just like Tamlen said, there was just a door at the end of a short hallway. What made Ralera uncomfortable was the amount of bones in front of the door. Most, if not all of them, looked like complete skeletons piled together. Doing her best to not think about whatever might be behind that door, Ralera turned her attention to the statue Tamlen was studying.

The statue was that of an elf male wearing a set of robes, with an elaborate headdress. He held a spear in his hand, and had strange protrusions coming out of his back. The statue surprised Ralera, because not only was it obviously elven, but she even recognized who it was.

"I think I've seen something like this before," Tamlen said. "Isn't this one of the Creators?"

"Yes, this is Falon'Din," Ralera said. Falon'Din, one of the Creators and twin brother to Dirthamen, was the God of Death and Fortune who guided the dead across the Veil and into the Beyond. His name even meant Friend of Death. Tamlen grinned and raised an eyebrow at Ralera.

"What was that about elves not living underground?" he said.

"This proves nothing," Ralera said. "Come on, we've found something valuable now let's get out of here."

"Hang on, I want to see what's behind that door," Tamlen said, walking towards it. It was at that moment Ralera noticed something off about the floor in front of the door.

"Tamlen, don't!" But it was too late. Tamlen stepped forward, and the tile he stepped on pressed inwards. There was a clicking sound, and Ralera felt a pulse of magical energy. Ralera held her Dar'Misu up in reverse grip, prepared for anything to happen. "When this is over, remind me to kill you."

Ralera was expecting a shade to appear, or a horror, or maybe even a full-blown demon, but that wasn't quite what happened. Right before her eyes, the bones all over the floor began to stir. Bit by bit the bones pieced themselves together to form five complete skeletons, their eyes filled with the magic that animated them.

Ralera rushed forward, snatching Tamlen's Dar'Misu from his belt. She ducked under a swipe from the first skeleton's bony claws and slashed through four of its ribs with the blade in her right hand. She kept going past the skeleton, turning and jamming the left blade into another skeleton's sternum. Tearing the blade down and out through the bone, Ralera turned and slashed through the jaw of a third skeleton. Since she and it were right next to the wall, Ralera slammed her elbow into its skull, smashing it against the wall. The rest of the skeleton crumpled to the ground, once again lifeless.

Ralera turned away from the now lifeless skeleton to find the first two she attacked bearing down on her. Just past them she saw Tamlen trying to fight off the other two with his bow and realized that she'd left Tamlen almost defenseless by taking his Dar'Misu. He was a good fighter at close quarters, but not with a bow.

Thinking quickly, or perhaps not at all, Ralera barreled into the skeleton with the cracked sternum, letting the enchantment on her armor absorb the blows from the bony claws as she pushed it back into the opposite wall. Pushing it off of her, Ralera delivered a devastating kick to its sternum, causing the entire chest cavity to cave in due to the crack. The skeleton shuddered as its eyes dimmed, before falling to the ground like this first skeleton.

Stepping back from the skeleton, Ralera turned and stabbed her left blade into the skull of the other skeleton. Pulling it back and out of the way, Ralera threw her own Dar'Misu at one of the two skeletons attacking Tamlen, hitting it in the back of the skull. She then stomped on the kneecap of the skeleton she was fighting, breaking its leg at the knee.

Letting go of the Dar'Misu, Ralera kicked the skeleton over and stomped on its back, feeling its ribs crack under her foot. She stomped on its back once more, and then on its skull for good measure. Ralera waited a moment to make sure the skeleton didn't try to get back up before turning to see how Tamlen was doing. At some point in the few seconds since she threw it, Tamlen had managed to pull her Dar'Misu out of the skeleton's head. That was about all the luck he'd had, as both skeletons were still alive, so to speak. He was doing a decent enough job fending them off, but if Ralera wanted to get out of these ruins anytime soon, she'd have to take matters into her own hands.

Picking up Tamlen's Dar'Misu from the shattered remains of the skeleton's skull, Ralera ran towards Tamlen and the two skeletons he was fighting. Pulling her bow from its holster on her back, Ralera hooked it over the head of the first skeleton. Pulling back on the bow, Ralera swung the Dar'Misu under the bow, cutting into the skeleton's spine and severing its head from the body. Flipping the blade, Ralera turned and buried it in the skull of the second skeleton. Grabbing it with her free hand by the shoulder, Ralera slammed her knee into its spine, bending it backwards. Pushing the Dar'Misu up through the skull to the forehead, Ralera then drove the blade, and the skeleton, into the ground. Pulling the blade out, Ralera delivered the coup de grace with a boot to the skull. With all of the skeletons dead again, Ralera turned to Tamlen, who was trying to catch his breath.

"From now on, take your sword and shield when you go hunting," she said, holding Tamlen's Dar'Misu out to him.

"Don't have to tell _me_ twice," Tamlen replied, taking his Dar'Misu and returning Ralera's. "So, wanna see what's behind that door, now?"

"Are you crazy?" Ralera said. "Whoever set that trap obviously didn't want anyone going in there!"

"Exactly!" Tamlen exclaimed. "Whatever our ancestors went to such great lengths to protect must valuable. Imagine how much we could learn about our history!"

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Merrill," Ralera said. Merrill was the Marethari's First, or her successor. "I care about restoring our lost history as much as you do, Tamlen, but there's no point in finding anything if we don't live to tell the clan about it." Tamlen put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Look, you're just stressed about being underground," he said.

"It's not that, Tamlen," Ralera said. "Something feels _wrong_ about this place. If I were a mage, I'd say the Veil was thin here, and that feeling only gets stronger the deeper we go in."

"Alright, I'll make you a deal," Tamlen said. "As soon as we take a look around this next room, we'll leave." He then raised his left hand and put his right hand on his chest over his heart. "I swear, even if we find a sign that says 'complete history of Arlathan in the next room,' we will turn right around and go back to camp." Ralera wanted to argue, or even flat out refuse, but short of leaving Tamlen to explore this place by himself, this was the fastest way she was going to leave this place.

"Fine," she said, and then she pointed a threatening finger in Tamlen's face, "but if you so much as _think_ about exploring further than that, I will personally drag you out by your hair!"

"Deal," Tamlen said. "Now come on, let's see what's behind door number…how many does this make?"

"Five," Ralera said, drawing her bow. "I'll take point this time." The two of them took their places next to the door. Tamlen turned the knob and cracked the door open. Ralera peered into the opening. The room on the other side of the door was mostly empty, except for several large roots along the walls from trees above-ground and a large mirror on a low dais in the center of the room. There was also an unidentifiable stensh in the room. "Clear," Ralera said, and the two of them carefully entered the room.

"Whoa," Tamlen said when he saw the mirror. It was tall, and had a stone frame with elvish writing on it, and with statues of two robed elven men with swords on either side of it. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I wonder what the writing means?"

"The Keeper might be able to translate it," Ralera said. The statue was indeed beautiful, but something about it made Ralera nervous, which was never a good sign.

"Maybe, but she's not here to help us right now," Tamlen replied. At that moment, Ralera heard a low, menacing growl from somewhere behind the mirror. Ralera drew her Dar'Misu as Tamlen drew his bow and nocked an arrow. "What was that?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"It sounds like a bear," Ralera replied, listening to the sound of heavy breathing.

"Nothing we can't handle, right?" Tamlen said hopefully.

"Depends on the breed," Ralera said. "I'm _not_ picking a fight with a grizzly."

"Let's found out then," Tamlen said. Before Ralera could protest, Tamlen fired an arrow off to the side of the mirror. Immediately their ears were greeted by the sound of annoyed roar, and something came lumbering out from behind the mirror.

Whatever it was, Ralera was certain it wasn't a bear. It certainly looked like one, but its skin was falling off in places, and it had horrible protrusion coming out of it's back. The stench Ralera had smelled upon entering the room seemed to be coming from it. Ralera steeled herself as the bear let out a roar and charged towards them. Ralera ran forward to meet it halfway as Tamlen darted off to the side. Ralera jumped over the bear's head as it to a swipe at her and tumbled across its back, letting her armor protect her from the protrusions on its back. When she hit the ground behind it, she quickly got back on her feet and yelled at the bear to draw it's attention away from Tamlen, who was firing arrows non-stop. Whe the bear turned to her, it raised up on it's hind legs and roared at her. Ralera took this opportunity to run up and jump on the bear, burying her blade where it's heart hopefully was. The bear let out a pained groan as it began to teeter backwards, finally falling onto its back. Ralera quickly pull her Dar'Misu out and backed away just in case it was still alive. When it didn't move for a few moments, Ralera decided it was dead. She wiped the bear's blood, which she noticed was black, on her bracer before sheathing it.

"Wh-What was that?!" Tamlen exclaimed, looking horrified.

"I don't know, nor do I want to," Ralera said.

"At least now we can examine this mirror," Tamlen said, seeming to have calmed down rather quickly. "Odd that it isn't broken like everything else in these ruins, espescially with that bear lumbering around in here."

"The statue of Falon'Din was in one piece," Ralera said, looking around the room.

"You know what I…hey, did you see that?"

"What?" Ralera said quietly, her hand automatically moving to her Dar'Misu.

"I think something moved inside the mirror," Tamlen said. Ralera looked at the mirror just in time to see what looked like a ripple move across the glass. "There it is again!"

"Let's get out of here, Tamlen," Ralera said, grabbing hold of Tamlen's arm. She'd had about as much as she could take from this place. Something in the air had changed, and Ralera was willing to bet the mirror had something to do with it.

"Hang on," Tamlen said, brushing Ralera's hand off of his arm. "Can you feel that? I think it knows we're here. I just need to take a closer look…"

"Tamlen, wait!" But before she could grab hold of him, Tamlen had begun to make his way over to the mirror. She wanted to run up there and drag him away from that mirror, but every fiber of her being was screaming at her not to take another step towards it. Tamlen stepped up to the mirror and placed a hand on its smooth surface. Another ripple appeared where his hand touched the glass, and Ralera saw his eyes sort of cloud over in his reflection.

"It's…showing me places," he said. "I can see…some sort of city…underground? And…there's a great blackness…" And then without warning, Tamlen's face took on a look of pure terror. "It…it saw me! Help! I can't look away!"

Ignoring her every instinct to stay away from the mirror, Ralera rushed to pull Tamlen away. But before she could even lay a hand on him, there was a great flash of light and an explosion of energy from the mirror, and then everything went dark.

* * *

_A.N./And here's my edited version of this chapter. Also, I'll be adding references to different things whenever I find a chance to, like I did in this chapter. If you can figure out the references, then you'll get a shout out in the following chapters._

_A big thanks to Hikari86 for encouraging me and promoting my story. Read her stories, they kick ass._


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter seven is finally up._

_I edited chapter six and added the bearskarn fight._

_A shout out to Hikari86 and corumb for figuring out the reference in chapter six!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

Her head was aching, her body was sore, and her throat felt like fire. Ralera tried to open her eyes, but found that eye crust had formed over them. Reaching up with an arm that felt like lead, Ralera rubbed the crust away and opened her eyes.

She was inside an aravel, which meant she was back at the camp, but she couldn't remember where she had been before. Ralera sat up with a groan, which immediately set her throat ablaze. Putting a hand to her throat, Ralera looked around for any sort of relief. She found it in a wooden bowl full of water on a stand next to the bed she was in. Ralera picked up the bowl and drained its contents all at once, relishing in the soothing effect it had on her throat. Letting the bowl drop to the floor, Ralera looked around the aravel to hopefully see whose it was. Judging by the dusty tomes and artifacts scattered around, Ralera guessed that she was in Keeper Marethari's aravel.

On the wall across from the bed was a small mirror, and Ralera could see her reflection in it quite well. Her short, shaggy red hair was horribly disheveled, and there were dark circles under her sky-blue eyes. Her normally tanned skin seemed pale, bringing a slight contrast to the reddish-orange vallaslin on her heart-shaped face. The markings were that of Andruil, Goddess of the Hunt, which covered her forehead, chin, and just beneath her eyes.

Looking into the mirror made Ralera remember where she had been before she woke up in the aravel. She remembered going into the ruins with Tamlen, and she remembered Tamlen touching that strange mirror, and the look of horror on his face just before that strange flash of light.

Ralera looked around the aravel for Tamlen, hoping that she had simply overlooked him, but he wasn't there. Maybe he had already woken up, and was outside waiting for her? That had to be it. Ralera tried to stand up, but immediately stumbled.

'_How long have I been asleep?'_ Ralera thought. She had to get out of the aravel, and find out how long she'd been asleep, and where Tamlen was. Willing herself to stand up straight, Ralera made her way over to the entrance to the aravel, which had a thick curtain instead of a door. Ralera drew back the curtain, and had to shield her eyes from the sunlight.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she looked around the campsite. Everyone seemed busy doing one thing or another; the da'len were running around playing, while the harhen watched fondly, reminiscing with each other about when they were young. There were only a few hunters present, and they were all carrying stuff around and putting it away. Was the clan moving? They hadn't been where they were for very long.

"Lethallan!" Ralera turned to see Fenarel, one of Tamlen's best friends, jogging up to her, a relieved look on his face. He had the same short pale blond hair and tanned skin as Tamlen, but the vallaslin on his face were that of Mythal, the All Mother and Goddess of Protection and Justice. It was a pattern common among Dalish hunters, with only Andruil's markings being more common. "You're finally awake! We were all worried. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Ralera said. "Where's Tamlen?"

"We don't know," Fenarel said. "The shem that brought you here said he only found you."

"Wait, a _shem_ brought me back?" Ralera questioned, instantly becoming distrustful. "A shemlen knowingly came into a Dalish encampment?"

"Well, he was a Grey Warden," Fenarel explained. "He just showed up with you over his shoulder, and he had two recruits with him."

"Great, _more_ shems?" Ralera growled, crossing her arms and turning her head. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

"Actually, the recruits were elves," Fenarel said, looking around the camp. "I think they're…there! Right over there." Ralera looked to where Fenarel was pointing, and saw two young girls off near one of the other aravels. "Well, anyway," Fenarel said, "Keeper Marethari asked to be told when you woke up, so I'm going to let her know. See you later!" And with that he ran off, leaving Ralera to wait near Marethari's aravel.

While Ralera waited, she took the time to study the supposed recruits from a distance. One of them, a girl about the same age as Ralera with long black hair, was speaking with Harhen Paivel. She was holding an ivory staff with a green gemstone on it and was wearing the yellow and turquoise robes worn by mages from the Circle of Magi, which Ralera knew from having seen one during one of the times she'd went with Master Ilen into a human town to barter for supplies the clan couldn't acquire in the forest. One interesting thing Ralera noticed was that she seemed to have blue facial tattoos, though she couldn't quite make out the design from where she was.

The other girl, who was talking to one of the female hunters, had short blonde hair, and seemed to be the same age as the first girl. What struck Ralera as odd was that she was wearing an old set of Dalish armor, and had what looked like a Dar'Misu sheath at the small of her back. Was she from one of the other clans? The girl had her back to Ralera, so she couldn't see if she had vallaslin or not. Vallaslin were only given as a right of passage to da'len who were considered to be mature. Crying out or even whimpering during the process was considered a sign of weakness. The da'len receiving the vallaslin had to stay silent, or they would not be considered mature enough to be an adult yet. Ralera had received her own vallaslin on her first try, even opting for the more complex patterns. If this girl had vallaslin, it would mean that she was considered an adult among the Dalish. If not, then she was still a child.

"Da'len, I see you are well." Ralera turned to see that Fenarel had returned with the Keeper. Marethari had an old, wrinkly face that bore the golden vallaslin of Dirthamen. Her silvery hair was kept up in a bun, and she wore the customary robes of a Keeper, while her staff was held in her hand. All Keepers, as well as their Firsts, had the Gift. Ralera bowed respectfully to Marethari.

"Indeed, Keeper, though I worry for Tamlen," she said.

"As do I, da'len," Marethari said. "Especially if he has the same strange illness that you had. My magic was almost not enough to heal you."

"What of this Grey Warden who brought me back?" Ralera asked suspiciously.

"He claims to have found you out in the forest, delirious with fever. He left for the ruins he found you near. He believes there might be darkspawn creatures there. Did you see any?"

"I wouldn't know if I had, Keeper," Ralera said.

"I see. Do you remember anything from before you passed out?"

"Yes, I remember," Ralera said. "Tamlen and I found some ruins and investigated. We found a strange mirror, and Tamlen touched it. It gave off a flash of light, and the next thing I remember is waking up in your aravel."

"A mirror did all of this? That is strange indeed," Marethari said, touching a finger to her lips in thought. "I have never heard of such a thing in all the lore we have collected." Marethari shook her disappointedly. "I was hoping for more answers when you awoke, but there are only more questions, and Tamlen remains missing. He is more important than any lore in those ruins."

'_That's what _I _tried to tell him!'_ Ralera thought angrily.

"If Tamlen is as sick as you were, then his condition is grave," Marethari continued. "Duncan returned to the ruins to look for darkspawn, but we cannot rely on him to look for Tamlen as well. We must go ourselves, and quickly. Do you feel well enough to show us the way, Ralera? Without you, we will not find it." Ralera straightened up and squared her shoulders.

"Fen'Harel could not stop me, Keeper," Ralera said flatly.

"That is good to hear, Ralera," Marethari said. "I am ordering the clan to pack the camp so we can move north. Take Merrill with you to the ruins. Find Tamlen if you can, but do it swiftly."

"Wait, the clan is leaving?" Ralera asked. It would certainly explain why everyone was packing up. "Is it because of the darkspawn?"

"In part," Marethari said ominously, narrowing her eyes at Ralera in a way that made her flinch. She hated that look; it made her legs feel like jelly. "Did you and Tamlen encounter any humans in the forest?"

"Three, but we killed them," Ralera said.

"As I feared," Marethari said. "You have stirred up a hornets' nest, da'len. The humans in the nearby village are furious."

"And we're going to let them drive us off?" Ralera questioned angrily.

"Our hunters could slaughter the entire village if we wished," Marethari said. "You yourself are capable of such a feat on your own, but at the cost of bringing their king's wrath down upon us. It is better this way."

"Yes, Keeper," Ralera said, hanging her head dejectedly.

"Retrieve your weapons from Master Ilen, and go find Merrill," Marethari said. "You will find her near Ilen's aravel."

"Keeper, if I may, I would like to go with them," Fenarel said.

"You are certain, Fenarel?" Marethari questioned. "I am already putting Ralera and Merrill at risk. I would not want to needlessly endanger you, as well."

"Tamlen is my friend, Keeper. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't try." Marethari seemed to contemplate sending Fenarel for a moment.

"Very well, you may accompany them," she finally said. "Now go, Tamlen's life hangs in the balance."

"Yes, Keeper. Come on, Fenarel." The two of them turned away from Marethari and headed towards Master Ilen's aravel. Most hunters usually left their weapons with Ilen for safe keeping when they weren't using them. If there were more spiders or skeletons like what Ralera and Tamlen found, then Ralera wanted her blades.

The two of them came up to Master Ilen's aravel shortly, and Ralera could see Merrill even as they approached. She spent most of her time inside her aravel, studying what little history they've managed to recover over the centuries, so her skin was somewhat pale, except for her rosy cheeks. She kept her short black hair in little braids, something she'd unsuccessfully tried convincing Ralera to do. She was wearing her usual over-sized dark green tunic over a set of old chain mail, and had a yellow-green scarf wrapped around her long neck. She had on a pair of black leggings, and no shoes. She was holding her staff in her hand, it's sharp blade pointed downward. Merrill turned to them as they approached, revealing her green eyes and the vallaslin of Falon'Din.

"Aneth ara, lethallan," Merrill said as Ralera approached. "The Keeper told me I was to accompany you to the ruins you and Tamlen found." She quirked an eyebrow at the sight of Fenarel. "Are you coming with us, Fenarel?"

"Yes, I asked Keeper Marethari myself," he said.

"We'll be ready to go once we get our things," Ralera said, stepping around Merrill to the stand Master Ilen kept set up in front of his aravel. Ilen had grey hair he kept tied back, and bore the vallaslin of June, the God of Crafts. "Aneth ara, harhen. Fenarel and I need our weapons."

"So I heard," Ilen said, already reaching underneath the stand. Clearly he had already retrieved the weapons from his aravel. "Here, you are. I polished and sharpened them while you were asleep." From beneath the stand Ilen produced a pair of Dar'Missans attached to a set of custom straps Ralera had made. She had modified them so they fit better and didn't dig in around her ribs or shoulders.

"Ma serrenas, Master Ilen," Ralera said, gratefully receiving her prized weapons. Stepping away from the stand while Ilen gave Fenarel his sword and shield, Ralera strapped the blades onto her back.

Taking in a breath, she gripped the hits of her swords and drew them on the exhale. With her weapons in her hands, Ralera felt a sort of completion, as if parts of her own spirit were within the blades. She twirled and swung the Dar'Missans, reacquainting herself with them, as it had been at least a week since she'd last practiced with them. She then sheathed one while examining the other. Just as Ilen said, it was as clean and sharp as the day it was forged. Convinced that everything was in order, Ralera sheathed her second blade and turned to Merrill and Fenarel.

"Let's go."

* * *

The three of them were walking through the forest for some time. Ralera wanted to move faster, but she first had to follow the route she and Tamlen had taken until she found the spot where they cornered the three humans. She was watching the ground, following what she hoped were her own tracks, when she found another set of tracks. These were still fresh, and were larger than any elf's footprints. Ralera crouched to examine them. They were large, about the size of a human's foot, and were slightly indented, like whoever left them had been weighed down.

"What kind of armor was the Grey Warden wearing?" Ralera asked, not looking back at the others.

"He was wearing plate armor," Fenarel said. "Not heavy plate, but plenty of it."

"Was he wearing heavy boots?" Ralera asked, tracing the inner outline of a footprint.

"Biggest _I've_ ever seen," Fenarel replied.

"Then unless there's another shemlen this close to the camp, these are his tracks," Ralera said straightening up. "Come on, the tracks lead this way." She then picked up the pace, trusting that Fenarel and Merrill could keep up with her as she followed the trail left by the Warden. From what Ralera could tell, this Duncan wasn't even trying to cover his trail, which meant that either he was a fool, or he was confident enough in his skills that he didn't fear being ambushed. If half of the things Ralera had heard about Grey Wardens were true, then it was most likely the latter, though Ralera doubted it.

They followed the trail for half an hour before Ralera began to recognize the path she and Tamlen had taken. She noticed that the Warden's path overlapped with that of hers and Tamlen's perfectly, which suggested that the shem had some skills with tracking. Impressive skills, for him to follow such an old trail. Were he one of the Dalish, Ralera might've invited him hunting with her and Tamlen.

Within a few more minutes Ralera stumbled upon what looked like the remains of a campsite. There was a ring of stones with a pile of burnt branches in the center.

"Do you think this might have been the Warden's campsite?" Fenarel asked once he and Merrill caught up with her.

"Probably," Ralera said, examining what was left of the fire. She reached out a hand and found that it was still slightly warm. "He was here, probably an hour or two ago."

"Lethallan, do you notice anything…wrong about the forest?" Merrill said. Ralera was about to ask her what she meant, when she noticed how quiet it was. The forest held none of the usual sounds; the cry of the birds, the chattering of squirrels, the rustling of bushes as animals rushed through them. There was an eerie silence that was almost palpable.

"It's quiet," Ralera said. "There aren't any animals here." At that moment the winds changed, and with it came a horrifying stench.

"By the Creators, what _is_ that smell?" Fenarel said as he covered his nose. "It smells like week-old bear carcass!"

"Oh, it's absolutely horrid!" Merrill complained, burying her face within her scarf. Ralera was about to agree with them, when she heard a branch snap from somewhere in the thicket.

"Ready yourselves!" Ralera said as she stood up and drew her Dar'Missans. In an instant, several short, hideous creatures with daggers, axes, and maces came at them from all directions. Rather than take the time to look at them, Ralera went on the attack.

Charging towards two of the creatures, Ralera parried their blows as she ran between them, turning around and thrusting her blades into their skulls. Pulling her blades out, she turned her attention to another one of the creatures that was running towards her. Parrying it's attack with her right blade, Ralera stepped around it and slashed deep into it's back with her left blade. Continuing her rotation, she lopped off the head of another one with her right blade, and then stabbed another in the chest with her left blade.

With the most immediate threats killed, Ralera looked around the clearing they were in, only to see that Fenarel and Merrill had already taken care of the rest. Fenarel looked frantic, his sword and shield raise in spite of the fact that their attackers were dead.

"Wh-What were those things?!" he exclaimed.

"I don't know," Ralera said as she wiped her blades clean on her bracers. With all of the creatures dead, she took the time to examine them. They were short, about the size of a dwarf. They had ashen skin, bald heads, and rows of sharp teeth. Their weapons and armor were all crudely made. Ralera had never seen anything like these things.

"Do you think these might be the darkspawn the Keeper was talking about?" Merrill inquired.

"They might be," Ralera said. "Tamlen and I didn't see anything like these in the ruins."

"Ralera, do you feel alright?" Merrill asked. Ralera turned to her, and could see the concern on her face.

"Of course I am," Ralera responded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that you look much paler than earlier," Merrill said.

"She's right, you look worse than you did before," Fenarel said. Ralera gave what they said some thought, and she noticed that she was having a hard time catching her breath. Was this an aftereffect of whatever she had contracted from the mirror? It had to be, Marethari had cured her.

"I'm fine," Ralera said. "Come on, we have to hurry."

They continued to follow the trail, and within a few minutes they had found the entrance to the ruins. Ralera could sense a sort of corruption that hadn't been there when she and Tamlen first found it. She went down the stairs cautiously, remembering full well what she and Tamlen had encountered the first time. The sense of wrongness that Ralera had felt before was even stronger now, and they weren't anywhere near the mirror. Merrill hugged herself and shuddered.

"The Veil is incredibly thin here," she said.

'_That's what I tried to tell Tamlen!'_ Ralera thought, drawing her Dar'Missans. "Watch yourselves down here. There might be more darkspawn."

The first room where Ralera and Tamlen had first encountered the spiders was empty. Not even the corpses of the spiders they killed remained, which did not ease Ralera's mind. She opened the door on the other side of the room and stepped out into a hallway that went two ways, followed closely by Fenarel and Merrill.

Immediately they were swarmed from both directions by darkspawn. Ralera broke off to the right while Fenarel went left. As she closed in on the first one, dozens of large roots erupted from the ground, walls, and ceiling, ensnaring the darkspawn in the hallway. Making a mental note to thank Merrill, Ralera began weaving her way through the roots, cutting down darkspawn as she ran by. There was one final darkspawn at the end of the hallway that had avoided getting ensnared. It wore a hideous headdress and carried a staff instead of the weapons the others used. Ralera guessed that it was a mage, and her guess proved right as it began firing minor spells at her. Ralera moved forward step by step, batting the weak spells away with her swords. The creature seemed to realize that its spells weren't working and began to cast something stronger. The short time it took to draw upon its mana was all Ralera needed to close the distance and stab the darkspawn in the chest with her Dar'Missans.

As the darkspawn mage shrieked its last shriek, Ralera turned back down the hallway to Fenarel and Merrill finishing off the last darkspawn on their end. Instead of waiting for them to catch up, Ralera opened the door to the next room. One look was all it took to see that it was full of darkspawn, but instead of the small ones, there were new, bigger ones. They were about the same size as humans, had the same ashen skin as the small ones, and wore raggedy leather armor that looked like it offered less protection than the smaller ones'.

Her entrance didn't go unnoticed, and every darkspawn in the room charged at her. Ralera immediately took the offensive as the rushed straight into the middle of the room. She ran past the first darkspawn while slashing deep into its side with her right blade. She then flipped her left blade while pivoting and stabbed it into the chest of another darkspawn behind. She then let go of her left blade while parrying a swing from a darkspawn coming at her from the right, and then slashed into its side with a two-handed swing with her right blade. Turning back to the darkspawn on the ground with her other Dar'Missan in its chest, she kicked the blade out of the corpse, causing the darkspawn behind it to step on the blade and trip. Ralera crouched low and swung upwards with her remaining blade, lopping off the darkspawn's head. Parrying the blow of the next darkspawn, Ralera thrust her blade into its chest with both hands. Pulling her blade out and stepping around the falling corpse, Ralera locked blades with another darkspawn. Within the first second it became clear that the creature was far stronger than she was as it began to push her blade back. A primal rage that Ralera was very familiar with welled up inside of her as her vision turned red. Ralera let out a primal scream as she pushed the darkspawn back and brought her sword down on it, nearly cleaving it in two. She felt a blade cut across her back, and turned to behead the next darkspawn.

Everything that happened next was a blur. At some point during her rampage Ralera had retrieved her other Dar'Missan, and was spinning and slashing in a whirlwind of death. When her blades began hitting only air, Ralera stopped her swinging and began searching for her next victim. A hand on her shoulder had her spin around and lash out with her blades, which hit a wooden staff.

"Stop it, lethallan!" Ralera stared into the face of an elven girl, with eyes full of concern. "You killed them all, you can stop now!" Ralera shook her head as the red haze began to fade. She realized in the back of her mind that it was Merrill standing in front of her. Ralera took a step back and almost tripped over something. She looked around to find over a dozen dead darkspawn scattered around where she stood. She hadn't even realized that there were that many, nor did she remember killing them all.

"Did…did it happen again?" Ralera asked, to which Merrill only nodded. Ralera would be the first to call herself a bezerker, but there were times where it was like she went beyond that. If she thought hard enough, Ralera could sometimes get flashes of what she'd done while in one of those states, but for the most part all she could remember was white-hot rage, infernal screaming, and burning. Always a burning deep inside of her, like there was a wild-fire waiting to get out and burn everything.

"Lethallan, your arm!" Merrill's exclamation brought Ralera's attention to a slight stinging on her left arm. Ralera looked to find a shallow cut on her upper arm. The enchantment on her armor must have given out at some point during the fight, and one of the darkspawn had got a lucky hit in. It wasn't uncommon for Ralera to get several cuts while in one of her rages. "Here, let me heal it." Merrill then proceeded to heal her arm. Normally Ralera would've turned down a healing for something as minor as a cut, but she kept quiet this time, considering she had almost taken off Merrill's head.

"Ma serrenas, lethallan," Ralera said once her arm was healed. She then proceeded to wipe her blades on her bracers again when she noticed that the blood on her Dar'Missans was black, just like the bear she had killed in the mirror room. There was no way this a mere coincidence. "Come on, we're not far from where the mirror is."

There weren't any darkspawn in the next hallway, only the remains of the skeletons Ralera had killed. Regardless, Ralera stilled proceeded with caution as she rounded the corner and opened the door to the mirror room.

The very first thing Ralera noticed about the room was that there were dozens of darkspawn, some big, some small, all dead, littering the floor in a great, bloody mess. And in the center of the carnage, staring at the mirror, was a human. From what Ralera could see, he had black hair tied back into a short ponytail, and was wearing plate armor like Fenarel said he was, and also had a longsword and a dagger on his back. The man turned when Ralera opened the door, and she could see that he had a beard, brown eyes, and somewhat tanned skin. She also noted that there was very little blood on him, and none of it red.

"So _you_ were the ones fighting darkspawn," he said. "I thought I heard combat." He then gave Ralera a peculiar look. "You are the elf I found wandering the forest, aren't you? I am surprised you have recovered."

"If you heard fighting, then why didn't you help us?" Ralera questioned. While unneeded, some assistance would have been appreciated, even from a shemlen.

"I was busy dealing with my own darkspawn," the man said, gesturing around the room. "As you can see, not _all _of the kills were yours, though that bearskarn was there when I arrived." He then gestured off to the side, where the strange bear Ralera had killed was still there.

"That one was mine," Ralera said. "I killed it last time I was here."

"Yes, I made that connection myself," the man said. He then gave a respectful bow. "My name is Duncan, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you. The last time we spoke, you were barely conscious."

"Andaran atish'an, Duncan of the Grey Wardens," Merrill said, returning the bow. Ralera, on the other hand, remained standing straight. "I am Merrill, the keeper's apprentice."

"And I am Fenarel," Fenarel said. "Did you…come here alone, human? Battling all these creatures?"

"Yes. Though I must admit, you took a great deal of pressure off of me. Your Keeper did not send you after me, did she?" Duncan asked. "I told her I would be in no danger."

"We're looking for Tamlen," Ralera said.

"I see. So you and your friend Tamlen entered this cave?" Duncan asked. "And you saw this mirror?"

"Yes, we did. What's it to you?" Ralera said scathingly. She did not like having a shem, Grey Warden or not, asking her questions. Seemingly unfazed by Ralera's remark, Duncan gestured to the mirror behind him.

"The Grey Wardens have seen artifacts like this mirror before," he said. "It is Tevinter in origin, used for communication. Over time, some of them simply…break."

"What are you talking about? There's not a scratch on it!" Fenarel said.

"What I mean to say is, they become filled with the same taint as the darkspawn," Duncan explained. "Tamlen's touch must have released it. It's what made you sick…and Tamlen too, I presume." Duncan's words struck a fearful note within Ralera; if what she had contracted was the Taint, then Tamlen must have contracted it as well!

"That mirror needs to be destroyed," Ralera said, only realizing afterwards that she had said it out loud.

"I agree," Duncan said. "So long as the mirror exists, it is a threat to anyone nearby."

"I do not fear this sickness," Merrill said. "The Keeper knows how to cure it."

"She may have _weakened_ it, but she cannot _cure_ it," Duncan said. He then turned to Ralera. "Your recovery is only temporary. I can sense the sickness in you, and it is spreading. Look inside yourself, and you will see." Ralera didn't want to believe the Warden, but deep she knew he was right. She could still feel her sickness deep within her. But if she was still in danger, then Tamlen…

"Confirm it with your Keeper later, if you like. For now, we must deal with the mirror…it is a danger." Duncan then drew his sword and approached the mirror. Stepping up onto the dais, Duncan raised his sword and smashed it into the mirror. There was a bright flash of light as the mirror shattered. When the light faded, Duncan sheathed his sword and turned back to the others. "It is done. Now, let's leave this cursed place. I must speak with the Keeper immediately regarding your cure."

"Not yet, we still have to find Tamlen," Ralera said.

"I'm afraid it's too late for your friend," Duncan said. "You can't help him now."

"I don't care what you say, shem," Ralera snapped. "I came here looking for Tamlen, and I'm not leaving until I find him." She tried to go around the mirror and explore further, but Duncan cut her off.

"Let me be clear," Duncan said calmly, though there was a hint of authority to it that made even Ralera hesitate. "The only reason you survived is because of your Keeper's magic and your own will. Your friend has been tainted for three days unaided. Even if he _is_ alive, he is not the Tamlen you know. There is _nothing_ you can do for him now."

Ralera was outraged. How _dare_ he, a _shemlen_, tell her to give up on Tamlen! She wanted to argue with the Warden, maybe even fight him if she had to. She could feel that familiar rage begin to well up inside of her, until she felt a hand at her shoulder. Ralera looked behind her to see Fenarel.

"I don't want to leave without Tamlen either, but it seems we have no choice." Ralera hung her head and clenched her jaw and fists tight.

"Fine," she said, and even she could hear the malice in that one word.

"I sense no more darkspawn, so it is safe," Duncan said. "Lead on." Ralera said nothing, merely turning on her heel and storming out of the ruins, not caring if the others were following her.

* * *

_A.N./I'm very sorry this took so long. I hit a major writer's block, and it took me forever to get past it._

_My assignations of the vallaslin are based off of the Dragon Age Wiki and guesses made by maximusdecimus, an Author on fanfiction. His work is pretty good._

_My description of Marethari and Merrill are based off there appearances in DA2. I just like those looks better._

_Ralera's fighting style changes with the weapons she uses. When she has both of her blades, she wields them like twin dao swords. When she has only one blade, her style is more akin to bushido. I really like these fighting styles, and thought they would be perfect for a fighter like Ralera._

_Read Hikari86's work. She's part of the reason I managed to get this chapter done._


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter eight, ridiculously early! Consider it an apology gift for making you guys wait._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

Ralera and the others made it back to the camp without further incident, which wasn't good for Ralera's temper. She had spent the entire trip back stewing in her anger over what Duncan had said about there being no hope for Tamlen, and wishing some darkspawn would show up so she'd have something to take her anger out on. Upon returning to the camp, Ralera went straight to Marethari's aravel, where the Keeper almost seemed to be waiting for them.

"I'm relieved to see you have returned," Marethari said as Ralera and the others approached. "And I did not expect to see you again so soon, Duncan."

"I was not expecting to return so soon either, Keeper," Duncan replied.

"Dare I ask of Tamlen?" Marethari said to Ralera. "What did you find of him?" Ralera hung her head and balled her fists.

"Nothing," she said, unable to look into the Keeper's eyes." He…he's gone." The word tasted bitter in her mouth.

"I see. Merrill, what about the mirror? Did you bring anything back?"

"_I_ can answer that, Keeper," Duncan said. "I destroyed the mirror." Marethari crossed her arms and gave Duncan a disapproving look.

"I intended to use it to cure this mysterious illness," she said. "I trust you had good reasons for your actions?"

"There is much to discuss, Keeper," Duncan said. "I have learned a great deal since I was last here."

"Let us speak privately within my aravel then," Marethari said before turning to her First. "Merrill, warn the hunters. If darkspawn are about, I want the clan prepared."

"Ma nuvenim, Keeper," Merrill said before rushing off. Marethari then turned to Ralera.

"Da'len, allow me some time to speak with Duncan," she said. "Come see me later, and we can discuss your cure. Tell Hahren Paivel what has occurred. He now has the sad task of preparing a service for the dead."

"Ma nuvenim," Ralera said before leaving to seek out Harhen Paivel. She found him over near the bonfire, where he usually spent his time telling stories to the da'len. His hair was stark white, and he bore the vallaslin of Falon'Din.

"Ralera, you return with the Grey Warden, but without Tamlen," Paivel said as she approached. What happened, da'len? Is he truly lost to us?"

"He is, Harhen," Ralera said solemnly. Paivel let out an equally solemn sigh.

"It seems the will of the Creators that I sing the dirge for those I held in my arms as babes. I think I know why our immortal ancestors would sleep." Paivel stepped towards the fire and stared at it for a moment as if in thought before he spoke again. "Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky, hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye. Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber, softening the rolling thunder. Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense. During this, your last our, only silence."

"I remember that poem," Ralera said. There was very little of their recovered lore that Ralera did not know. "The Keeper would like you to prepare a funeral service for Tamlen."

"Of course," Paivel said. "We've no body to return to the soil, but we shall still sing for Tamlen. The Creators must come to guide him to the Beyond. Tell the Keeper that it shall be done before the clan is ready to move on."

"Ma serrenas, Harhen," Ralera said.

"You know, it's imperative now more than ever to pass on what we know to the young," Paivel said. "Let us tell these children of the fall of the Dales. You can honor me by sharing in the telling."

"Of course, Harhen," Ralera said.

"Come, then…help me as I go along." Paivel then turned to all of the da'len that were gathered around the fire, and it was only then that Ralera noticed that the blonde haired recruit she had seen earlier was among them, talking with the children. Ralera could see her face clearly now, and she could feel her heart thrum.

The girl had a beautiful, round face framed by her chin-length hair, with the warmest pair of brown eyes Ralera had ever seen. The da'len were asking her questions about where she was from, and Ralera heard the girl say something about an alienage in Denerim.

"Children, hear of the fall of the Dales!" Paivel said, getting the attention of the da'len, as well as the girl. "Hear the tale of what makes you Dalish! Would you care to begin, da'len?" Ralera felt her heart skip a beat as the girl looked her straight in the eye. She seemed eager to hear the story. Ralera took a deep breath as she gathered her courage; if this girl was from the city, then Ralera would be sure to instill in her the pride of the Dalish.

"Long ago, we were slaves to the humans," Ralera began, making sure to speak clearly enough for everyone to hear, especially the girl.

"Yes, slaves to a terrible empire the humans built on the darkest magic," Paivel continued. "When it fell, we became free. We built a homeland in the Dales, worshipping the Creators and rebuilding the culture and history we lost in our long years of slavery."

"But the humans would not let us be," Ralera said, glancing towards the girl; being from an alienage, Ralera assumed she would understand human oppression. The look in her eyes said this was so.

"They were resentful," Paivel said, "because we would not worship their gods, and because we put our people first. Over the years, the nations grew cold towards the Dales. Tin their eyes, we were blasphemers and cruel tyrants."

"Then the humans declared war on the Dales," Ralera said. The girl was enthralled by the story, more so than the da'len.

"And so the Dales fell. They took our lands and dispersed our people, forcing us to live in their cities and abandon our gods. But many of us refused to relinquish our ways. We instead chose to scatter to the winds, wandering the lands."

"We chose wandering the lands rather than the human rule," Ralera said.

"To survive and preserve our culture, the clans stay apart until the day the Elvhenan have a homeland once more."

"We shall return the old ways to those who have lost them," Ralera said, making sure to give full eye contact to the girl, to let her know she was speaking to her.

"We are the Dalish: keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path."

"We are the last Elvhenan. Never again shall we submit." Wonder filled the girl's eyes as Ralera spoke the Oath of the Dales. The girl gazed at her like she was some sort of hero, and it made Ralera feel proud.

"Thank you for your forbearance, da'len," Paivel said, taking Ralera's attention away from the girl. "You remember both the tale and the Oath of the Dales perfectly."

"It was an honor to aid you, Harhen," Ralera said.

"I would like to ask you something," Paivel said. "This…Grey Warden. You have met him now, yes? Is he a good man?"

"I don't really know, Harhen, nor do I wish to," Ralera said spitefully. She still held a lot of resentment towards Duncan for not letting her look for Tamlen.

"I see," Paivel said. "What is it he talk to the Keeper about, I wonder? Perhaps you should go and ask."

"Perhaps I will," Ralera said

"May the gods guide your path, da'len." Ralera turned and began to make her way to Marethari's aravel. Surely she had finished her discussion with the Warden.

"Excuse me!" Ralera turned to see the blonde girl approaching. Ralera's heart sped up as the girl approached. "I really enjoyed that story."

"I, uh," Ralera scrambled her brain for _anything_ to say. "I'm glad you enjoyed it.

"You're the girl that was sick, right?" the girl said. "I was really worried when we found you in the forest. My name's Tali, by the way."

"I'm Ralera. I thank you for your concern," Ralera said. From such close proximity, Ralera could see that Tali was slightly shorter that her. Ralera guessed that she was a year younger than her. "Did I hear right? You came from Denerim?"

"Yes, I did. Duncan recruited me there," Tali said with a smile. She seemed to be really excited about becoming a Grey Warden.

"A shame. You would have been welcome here," Ralera said.

"Maybe we could have been friends?" Tali said.

"Maybe we could have," Ralera agreed. _'Or maybe we could have been more,'_ she thought. Ralera brushed that thought to the side.

"Tali!" Ralera looked to see who was interrupting their conversation, and saw the other recruit approaching them. The instant Ralera's eyes met hers, there was an animosity between them. Ralera wasn't sure why, but there was something about the other girl that didn't seem right, something that Ralera didn't like. The other girl seemed to feel the same way as she came to a sudden stop upon seeing her. Ralera saw something blue flash in the other girl's green eyes, and she could feel her rage almost overwhelm her. It took all of her will power to not draw her weapons and attack the girl.

"Avarielle, this is the girl we found in the forest," Tali said. "Her name is Ralera."

"I…see," Avarielle said. She seemed to be choosing her words very carefully. "You've…made a full recovery."

"Yes, I have," Ralera lied. Whoever, or _what_ever this girl was, Ralera wasn't about to let her know she was vulnerable. Tali looked from one to the other, as if she had just noticed the tension between them.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I have to go," Ralera said. While she hated having to be rude to Tali, she had to get away from that other girl before something bad happened. Ralera made her way over to Marethari's aravel as quickly as she could without running. Marethari and Duncan were standing outside of the aravel, and seemed to be waiting for her.

"I trust that you spoke with Paivel?" Marethari said.

"Yes, Keeper, I did," Ralera said.

"Your Keeper and I have spoken, and we've come to an arrangement that concerns you," Duncan said. "My order is in need of help. You are in need of a cure. When I leave, I hope you will join me. You would make an excellent Grey Warden.

"What?! No!" Ralera exclaimed. There was no way she could leave her clan, and certainly no way she would want to go anywhere with that girl, Avarielle!

"The darkspawn taint courses through your veins," Duncan reasoned. "That you recovered at all is remarkable. But eventually, the taint will sicken and kill you, or worse. The Grey Wardens can prevent that, but it means joining us."

"Can't you just give me the cure now?" Ralera demanded.

"Joining the Grey Wardens _is_ the cure," Duncan said. "This is not simply an act of charity on my part. I would not offer this if I did not think you had the makings of a Grey Warden. Let me be clear: you will likely never return here. We go to fight the darkspawn, a battle that will take us far from your clan. But we need you and others like you."

"Why should we trust this human, Keeper?" Ralera asked, hoping to find some excuse to stay.

"A great army of darkspawn gathers in the south," Marethari said. "A new Blight threatens the land. We cannot outrun this storm. Long ago, the Dalish agreed to aid the Grey Wardens against a Blight, should that day arrive. We must honor that agreement. It breaks my heart to send you away. As it would to watch you die slowly from this sickness. This is your duty, and your salvation."

"Is this the only way?" Ralera asked. She was willing to take any alternative if it meant she didn't have to go.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Marethari said. "Here our paths diverge. You may never find us again. I cannot express my sadness at sending one of our daughters off into such danger, away from the clan that loves her. But if this is what the Creators intend for you, da'len, meet your destiny with your head held high. No matter where you go, you are Dalish. _Never_ forget that." Ralera hung her head. It seemed she had no choice in the matter.

"Fine, I'll go," she said.

"I welcome you to the order," Duncan said, giving her a bow while crossing his arms over his chest. "It is rare to have a Dalish amongst us, but they have always served with distinction."

"I know you will do your clan proud, da'len," Marethari said. She then removed a ring from one of her fingers and presented it to Ralera. "Take this ring. It is your heritage and will protect you from the darkness to come." Ralera accepted the ring, and found that it was the ring of Fen'Harel, worn by Keepers to remind them of their duty to protect the clan. That Marethari would bestow this upon her was an extreme honor.

"Ma serrenas, Keeper," Ralera said as she slipped the ring onto her finger.

"A valuable gift," Duncan said, as if he could discern the true value of the ring, which Ralera doubted. "So…are you ready to go?"

"Not until after Tamlen's funeral," Ralera said defiantly.

"Very well, I shall give you that," Duncan said. "Though we must leave immediately afterwards. Time grows short."

"Thank you," Ralera said, though she wasn't sure why.

* * *

Ralera stood within her aravel as she packed her bag with food. She had put on the fresh set of armor she had gotten from Ilen. She wasn't sure how much of her armor's enchantment had been worn out, so Ralera had requested a full set just in case. Tamlen's funeral was over, and she was preparing to join Duncan and the other recruits. She did not relish the thought of being anywhere near Avarielle, but perhaps with Tali there it wouldn't be so bad.

"Ralera." Ralera turned to see Ashalle, the woman who had raised Ralera. She wasn't her birth mother, but had been like a mother figure to her all her life. Her grey hair was tied back, and she had the vallaslin of Ghilan'nain, the Mother of the Halla. "I heard you were leaving the clan.

"I am, though not by choice," Ralera said. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just," Ashalle seemed hesitant for some reason. "I think it's time that you learned what happened to your parents." Ralera's eyes widened in surprise.

"You've never spoken of them," Ralera said. "No one in the clan will."

"It is not a happy tale," Ashalle said as she entered the aravel and took a seat on the bed. "Your mother was a hunter, one of the finest. And your father was the Keeper before Marethari. He was with us for a very long time." So far this was all stuff Ralera already knew. "Your mother was from another clan, and her elders did not approve of the match. She and your father had to meet in secret." _That_ Ralera _didn't_ know! She took a seat next to Ashalle as she listened to the story. "One day, bandits caught them alone in the forest. Your father was killed, but your mother escaped."

"Humans killed my father?" Ralera said angrily. She had always despised humans, but she never knew they had killed her father!

"Yes, but also city elves, too," Ashalle said quickly. "Those of our kind living with humans do not hold to the old ways." Ashalle then let out a sigh, and Ralera knew that the saddest pat was still to come. "Your mother held to life long enough to give birth to you, but grief wracked her heart. One night, she…she simply walked into the moonlight and never returned."

"My mother…abandoned me?" Ralera said. She could scarcely believe it.

"She just…couldn't carry on without your father," Ashalle said, no doubt trying to soften the news for Ralera. "The clan decided not to discuss this around you, lest it poison your heart with sadness."

"I…I understand," Ralera said. While she wished she had been told sooner, she understood that the clan was protecting her, and she was grateful for having been told.

"Your mother left you a gift, something of your father's to give to you when you were older," Ashalle said, reaching into her dress. "This may be my last chance to give it to you." From her dress, Ashalle produced a necklace made of wooden beads. They were each carved in the shape of animals; deer, hawks, wolves, and eve rabbits chased each other across the length of the necklace.

"It's…beautiful," Ralera said.

"And it is yours," Ashalle said. "I wish you luck on your travels, child." Ralera slipped the necklace over her head and gave Ashalle a hug.

"Ma serrenas, Ashalle."

Ralera left her aravel and made her way to the edge of the camp, where Duncan and the others would be waiting for her. She said her goodbyes to her friends as she passed, until she reached the others. They were waiting for her, carrying bags of their own on their bags. The look on Tali's face was warm and welcoming, Avarielle's distrustful, and Duncan's patient.

"I trust you are ready?" he said. Ralera merely nodded. "Very well then. Come, we must be off." Duncan took the lead, with Ralera taking up the rear. Tali noticed her trailing behind and slowed down to walk beside her, giving Ralera a warm, understanding smile. Words were not needed for Ralera to know that Tali understood how it felt to leave everything she ever knew behind. A glance from Avarielle showed that, despite whatever animosity there was between them, she too understood how Ralera felt. Ralera allowed herself a ghost of a smile.

'_Perhaps this won't be as bad as I thought.'_

* * *

_A.N./ Ralera's origin is finally done. Next chapter will take place when they're on their way to Ostagar._

_Read Hikari86's work. She rocks!_


	9. Chapter 9

_It took me a while, but here it is! There's a reference to an Antonio Banderas movie in this one. I'm only giving you that hint because it's sorta vague. Of course, that's not the only reference. Happy hunting!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age._

* * *

Ralera stared into the campfire as she thought about the events that had transpired. Less than a week ago, Ralera had been living her life like she always had. Now she was slowly dying of a horrible illness far away from her home, and in the company of strangers, among which was a middle-aged shem and a mage that Ralera could not help but despise. The only consolation was Tali, though Ralera hadn't been able to strike up a conversation with her all day. She spent most of her time talking with Avarielle, who apparently was a childhood friend whom she hadn't seen in years.

Even now they were talking to each other. It was evening, and Ralera was sitting across the fire from everyone else, hoping to put as much distance as she could between herself and Duncan and Avarielle. Every once in a while Ralera would stare at Tali until Avarielle noticed and gave her a distrustful look, and Ralera would then look away and back to the flames. When Ralera really thought about it, she had no real reason to despise Avarielle the way she did. She just did, like it was some strange instinct. By now Ralera had gotten the feeling under control enough that she no longer wanted to decapitate the mage every time she looked at her, but she still wouldn't have anything to do with her if she could help it.

Feeling somewhat hungry, Ralera dug into her bag and pulled out a small loaf of bread wrapped up in a large leaf and took a bite out of it. A silence fell over the camp as Tali and Avarielle finished their conversation, and Ralera enjoyed the silence while it lasted.

"Have done much fighting, Ralera?" Tali asked, finally seeming to have taken an interest in the Dalish warrior.

"For about seven years," Ralera said after she swallowed the piece of bread she had been chewing on.

"Do you think I could see you fight?" Tali asked, an eager glint in her eye. Ralera would've loved to have shown her a few things, if she had anyone to fight with.

"Perhaps another time," she said, taking another bite out of her bread.

"I think a demonstration is reasonable enough," Duncan said, rising from his seat and drawing his sword. "What say you, Ralera? I must admit that I'm eager to see if the things I've heard about you are true." Ralera just scoffed as she continued to stare into the fire.

"You don't want to fight me," she said, and it wasn't out of pride or overconfidence. "A shem your age wouldn't stand a chance against a Dalish warrior like me." She heard Avarielle make an indignant sound at Ralera's disrespectful remark, but Duncan was unfazed.

"I like to think I'm still in good shape at my age," Duncan said. "I saw the corpses in the ruins, and by my count _I_ had the most kills, and with me by myself, no less." Ralera cut Duncan a dangerous look. The Warden's expression was nonchalant, but he wasn't fooling her; what he had just said was a challenge. Ralera threw down her bread as she stood up and drew one of her Dar'Missans.

"Do you have any idea who I am? Do you know what shemlen like you call me?"

"If what your Keeper said about you is true, then you are the Demon of the Dales," Duncan said, as if it were no big deal. Ralera heard Tali's gasp at the sound of her shemlen-given title.

"And you still wanna fight me?" Duncan merely gestured to the open space next to the camp. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Ralera followed him away from the fire so they'd have enough room to spar. She then took up a stance with her Dar'Missan held out in front of her with both hands. Duncan, on the other hand, held his sword loosely at his side. Ralera eased her front foot forward slightly before rushing the Warden.

The two traded blows for a few seconds before Ralera saw an opening. Parrying one of Duncan's blows, Ralera took a swing at his open side, intending to only hit his armor. Instead, her blow was parried, and Ralera had to lean back to avoid a swing that could've taken her head off. Turning to face Duncan, Ralera pointed her blade at him with her right hand while grabbing hold of her second blade's hilt. Needless to say, Duncan now had Ralera's _full_ attention. It seemed he wasn't Commander of the Grey for nothing. Ralera grinned at the prospect of facing someone her equal in skill, even if that equal _was_ a shem.

Ralera drew her second blade as she renewed her assault on Duncan. The Warden kept up with her blow for blow. He was just as quick as she was, and Ralera was having too many close calls. When Duncan attempted to thrust his sword at her, Ralera parried the blow and spun past it. Completing the rotation, Ralera lashed out in what she hoped to be the finishing blow, only to find that Duncan had disappeared. A split second later, a sword appeared at Ralera's throat from her blind spot. Ralera took in a sharp breath as she glanced to the side and saw Duncan with sword in hand.

'_How did he-?'_

"Your Keeper didn't exaggerate," Duncan said as he sheathed his sword. "You are by far one of the most skilled fighters I've ever had the pleasure of sparring with."

"I held back," Ralera said reflexively, if somewhat defensively. "I…didn't think you could keep up with me."

"As did I, and for the same reason as you," Duncan replied. "Perhaps against the darkspawn, we can see what we're each truly made of?" Ralera could only nod in agreement. "Then I look forward to seeing your full strength." And with that Duncan made his way back over to the fire.

Ralera sheathed her Dar'Missans as she returned to her place at the fire. She replayed each step of the match in her head, trying to figure out where she lost the upper hand. Ralera never dreamed that she'd meet her match in combat, let alone her superior. What baffled her the most was that it was a _human_ that beat her. Ralera had always thought herself superior to shemlen, but Duncan had matched her step for step and blow for blow. On top of that, he had only used his sword; his dagger had remained untouched. Duncan had actually held back more than her. If they had fought for real, would she even stand a chance against the Grey Warden? Ralera wasn't sure.

Ralera caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and looked to see Tali coming towards her.

"That was incredible!" she said as she sat down next to Ralera. "You're an amazing fighter!"

"Um, thanks," Ralera said, racking her brain for anything to say. "Not as good as Duncan, though."

"Grey Wardens are some of the best fighters in Thedas," Tali said. "There's no shame in losing to one, especially the Commander of the Grey." Tali then gave Ralera a wondrous look. "Are you really the Demon of the Dales?" Ralera looked away into the fire. She was afraid she'd ask that. Ralera could feel any chance she had with Tali slipping away.

"That's what the shemlen call me," she admitted. "While in a human settlement bartering for goods, some bandits tried to rob Master Ilen. I killed them all." Ralera continued to stare into the fire as she recounted the origin of her title. "It wasn't until later that a group of mercenaries who'd heard of my skills tracked down my clan to recruit me. When I refused, they started burning down trees in the forest. I met them in the middle of Gwaren, the town they were based in, and slaughtered them. Since then I've been called 'Demon'."

"Wow." That wasn't what Ralera had expected to hear. Turning back to face Tali, she saw an awestruck look on the girl's face. Tali blushed and averted her stare. "I'm sorry. It's just…you've been an inspiration to me in the last few years." Ralera felt herself blush in return, and prayed to Mythal that the vallaslin on her cheeks hid it. Tali looked back at Ralera and seemed to study her face. "Your tattoos are beautiful," she said. She then lifted a tentative right hand. "May I?"

Not trusting her voice, Ralera merely gave the girl a slight nod. Tali reached out to Ralera and began tracing the markings on her forehead. Her touch was like fire on Ralera's skin, setting her ablaze from within. It took all of her restraint to not show what the girl was doing to her, to not close the distance between them and claim her for her own. All of Ralera's concentration went into keeping her breath even.

"Mama had vallaslin, too," Tali said, surprising Ralera.

"Your mother was Dalish?" Ralera asked, finding the subject to be a good distraction from her mounting desire.

"Uh-huh," Tali replied as she finished tracing the markings on Ralera's forehead and traced the single line down the bridge of her nose. "I think she said her vallaslin was Mythal's. Which Creator does yours represent?"

"Andruil," Ralera said as Tali began tracing the markings under her eyes. "What did she teach you about our people?"

"As much as she had time to," Tali said, moving from one cheek to the next. "She mostly taught me how to fight, how to steal; how to survive. I never even learned to speak Elvish. Mama said it would get me in trouble with the guards. I wish I could have learned, before she died." Tali then used her middle and forefingers to trace the two lines that went from Ralera's lower lip to her chin.

"I can teach you," Ralera said softly, only realizing a second later that she had said it out loud. Tali looked directly at Ralera with a surprised look, which quickly turned into excitement.

"Really? When?" She asked.

"Tomorrow," Duncan said from across the fire. Ralera cut the Warden a look, annoyed that he interrupted them. "There will be plenty of time for lessons while we walk. For now, it'd be best you the three of you got some sleep. It'll take at least three days to reach Ostagar, _if_ we get an early start."

"Okay," Tali said. Then, much to Ralera's surprise, Tali gave her a big hug. Ralera felt an intense heat rush to her face and…_other_ areas as their bodies were pressed together. "Goodnight Ralera. Goodnight Duncan." Tali then went back over to Avarielle, where both of their bedrolls were already set up. They said their goodnights to each other, but before laying down, Avarielle shot Ralera a cold, almost jealous look. Ralera had the sudden, childish urge to stick her tongue out at the mage, but she kept her composure. After the annoying mage went to sleep, Ralera turned her gaze to the sleeping form of Tali.

"She told you her mother was Dalish," Duncan said, drawing Ralera's attention, "but she didn't tell you her name."

"And you know what it is," Ralera said, making it a statement. Whatever the Warden had to say had better be good.

"Indeed, a name I'm sure you know as well as I," Duncan said cryptically. Ralera was about to tell the old shem to stop speaking in riddles, or stop speaking altogether, when his next words cut her off. "Her mother was Adaia." Any words Ralera might've said froze in her throat. _The _Adaia? The Dalish warrior known for being as deadly as she was beautiful? Ralera had heard that she had left her clan after falling in love with a flat-ears, but could Tali truly be her daughter?

"Tali said her mother was dead," Ralera said. "How?" It was hard to imagine Adaia dead.

"From what I have been told, she was murdered ten years ago by nobles." Ralera gritted her teeth in anger.

"Of course it was humans," she said coldly. "They're all cruel, heartless bastards who wouldn't care if an elf lived or died."

"I'll have you know that I resent that," Duncan said calmly. "Adaia was a dear friend of mine, and I was saddened to find out that she had passed on. My whole reason for going to Denerim was out of concern for Tali and her father."

Ralera turned and continued to watch Tali sleep. She had no reason to disbelieve Duncan, but she wasn't quite ready to trust him, either. Especially after he made her give up looking for Tamlen. On the other hand, if he hadn't found her, she'd probably be lost as well. And then she wouldn't have been able to meet Tali, and teach her about her heritage.

"You're obviously smitten with her," Duncan said, again drawing Ralera's ire.

"Are you going to go on about how it's wrong for a woman to love a woman?" Ralera asked indignantly, though she made sure to keep her voice down.

"Of course not," Duncan said, raising a hand defensively. "I simply ask that you put your affections aside for the time being. The darkspawn are our priority. Once we have ended the Blight, you may pursue her to your heart's content." Ralera nodded; it was a fair enough request. If all that stood between her and Tali was an army of darkspawn, then she'd cut them all down. No problem. "However, I think it's only fair to warn you that Tali was engaged." _That_ would be a problem.

"You're certain of this?" Ralera asked, becoming worried.

"She was to be married the same day Avarielle and I came to Denerim," Duncan explained. "It was an arranged marriage, but Tali seemed genuinely happy with the young man chosen for her."

"So…she has someone waiting for her?" Ralera asked, feeling her heart sink.

"I'm afraid not," Duncan said, confusing Ralera. "There was an incident at Denerim. I will not say more, except that Tali's betrothed was killed. She has since then carried the engagement ring. She wears it even now."

Ralera took another look at Tali's sleeping form, wondering if Duncan was telling the truth, when Tali rolled over in her sleep. Her left hand fell out to her side, and Ralera could clearly see the golden band glinting in the firelight on her left fourth finger. Ralera mentally kicked herself for not having noticed it sooner. She was prepared to deal with Tali not being a lover of women, but a recently deceased love interest made things a lot more difficult.

"I see that I've given you a lot to think about," Duncan said. "Perhaps you should sleep on it. We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow."

Ralera decided that Duncan was right. As Ralera moved to her own bedroll, she took one last look at Tali. It would be difficult, and it would require an immense amount of patience on Ralera's part, but it would be worth it when Tali was hers. Tali, her vhenan'ara.

* * *

Avarielle trudged along in a rather foul mood. The group had been walking since morning, with Duncan in the lead and Tali in the rear taking Elvish lessons from Ralera. Avarielle didn't see why Tali had to go to the older girl for lessons. There were entire _books_ at the Tower that were written in Elvish, and even a book that held translations. Avarielle wouldn't have been surprised if she actually knew _more_ Elvish than Ralera!

In truth, Ralera had given no reason for Avarielle to dislike her, except maybe that disrespectful remark she had given Duncan the night before. But for some reason, whenever their eyes first met, there was something in Ralera's eyes that freaked Valor out. It had taken all of Avarielle's will and reasoning to hold him back. However, she had to admit that there was something…wrong about the Dalish girl. Something dark. At first Avarielle wondered if she was possessed by a demon, but Valor didn't think so. According to the spirit, it would most likely have taken direct physical contact to determine if she was possessed, and that even if this wasn't the case, the demon, if it existed, would have attacked immediately upon having been discovered. Avarielle then suggested that it might have been the Taint within her, but Valor wasn't sure about it.

And as if that first encounter wasn't enough to make Avarielle wary of the Dalish girl, last night's conversation revealed Ralera's true identity. News of the Demon of the Dales had even reached the Circle, and Avarielle did not share Tali's opinion on the matter. As far as Avarielle was concerned, anyone violent enough to be called 'Demon' was a danger to friend and foe alike. Plus, Ralera almost stuck her tongue out at her; Avarielle could practically see the thought flash through the Dalish girl's head. Ooh, if she had, all Fade would have broken loose!

But what disturbed Avarielle the most was Ralera's final conversation with Duncan. While Tali had fallen asleep immediately after laying down, Avarielle had still been awake to hear Duncan speak to Ralera about her affection towards Tali. It wasn't so much that she was a girl that disturbed her, as Avarielle believed that true love didn't discriminate based on gender. It was that Ralera loved _Tali_. Were it not for Ralera's reputation, as well as whatever it was about her that set Valor on edge, and Tali's preference for boys, _and_ the recent loss of Nelaros, Avarielle _might_ have seen it as a match-making opportunity. But as it were, Avarielle was worried about her best friend.

Avarielle had sneaked a peek the night before, and knew that Ralera had spotted the ring. She only hoped that was enough to dissuade the Dalish warrior. If not, then perhaps she'd give up when she realized how clueless Tali was; when they were children, there had been several boys, elven _and_ human, who had crushes on Tali, and she had been oblivious to all of them.

'_Perhaps it would help if you warned Tali,'_ Valor suggested. He was just as concerned about Tali as Avarielle was.

'_No, that might only make things worse,'_ she replied. _'You saw how Tali reacted last night when Ralera told her story. She practically idolizes her. If she suspected that Ralera was attracted to her, she might actually consider returning those affections.'_

'_Bah, it would be far simpler to confront Ralera,'_ Valor said. The spirit didn't like the idea of sitting back and seeing how things played out. He'd rather take a direct approach.

'_I know, but that would cause more problems than it would solve,'_ Avarielle argued. If Avarielle were to attack Ralera for no apparent reason, she would have to either reveal Valor's existence in order to explain why she didn't trust the Dalish girl, or confess to having heard Duncan and Ralera talk and come across as a jealous admirer of Tali. _'Besides, I'm not entirely certain I'd win the fight.'_

'_Do you doubt my skill?' _Valor asked, sounding offended.

'_It's my ability to lie that I doubt,'_ Avarielle replied. She was certain that if Valor took control of her like he did against the spiders, Ralera would be no match for the spirit. However, she wasn't sure how she would explain Valor to Duncan without making it sound like she was an abomination. And then Tali…no, if she fought Ralera, it would have to be as herself, and that was something Avarielle wanted to avoid.

'_Very well, then,'_ Valor said reluctantly. _'Let's hope that Tali is truly as _'clueless'_ as you say she is.'_

"I believe a moment to rest is in order," Duncan said, coming to a stop. Avarielle inwardly cheered, as they had been walking for several hours, and her feet were hurting.

Duncan had lead them out of the Brecilian Forest and into the Southron Hills, and walking up and down hills had left Avarielle's calves a little sore. Ralera had complained that she could've led them through the forest, which would have been a much shorter route, but Duncan had pointed out that she didn't know the way to Ostagar. Furthermore, he said, the part of the Korcari Wilds that the Brecilian Forest emptied into was all marshes that would've slowed them down more than going through the Southron Hills. And seeing as time was of the essence, in Ralera's case, at least, Duncan opted for the slight detour.

Avarielle sat beneath the shade of a tree, grateful for the chance to get out of the sun. Avarielle removed one of her shoes and rubbed her foot. She could already tell that she was going to get blisters. Duncan had suggested that she get a pair of boots while in Denerim, but Avarielle hadn't listened. All she could do was heal them like she had been doing so far.

"What are you doing?" Avarielle looked up to see Ralera standing in front of her. The Dalish girl removed her pack and began rummaging through it. "If you keep healing them, you'll just get more later. The only way to keep from getting more is to let them turn into calluses." She then pulled out a small jar and offered it to Avarielle. "Here, do yourself a favor and get a pair of boots."

Avarielle accepted the jar, which she opened to find a type of salve. Avarielle was surprised that Ralera would make such a gesture. It was clear from her tone and expression that she was reluctant to give her any aid, and yet she did so anyway.

'_It is because you are a comrade,'_ Valor said. _'Comrades look out for each other, in spite of any ill will towards each other.'_

'_You sound as if you respect her,'_ Avarielle thought.

'_Respect doesn't mean the same as trust,'_ Valor said. Avarielle agreed. She was grateful for the salve, but she still didn't trust the Demon of the Dales.

Ralera picked a spot out in the sunlight and sat down with her legs crossed and dug out some bread. Remembering that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, Avarielle reached into her own pack and produced her own loaf of bread. The Dalish had been kind enough to provide them with supplies, and Avarielle had to admit that the bread was delicious. Something about wrapping it in a leaf gave it extra flavor. Tali sat down next to Avarielle, but instead of pulling out a loaf of bread, she pulled out some berries. Avarielle had some berries as well, picked for them by the clan's First, a delightful girl named Merrill.

For a while, everyone simply sat and ate, even Duncan, who was munching on an apple. Other than the small sounds that came with eating, as well as a few birds overhead, there was silence. At least until Tali spoke up.

"How come you're sitting in the sun, Ralera?" she asked through a mouthful of berries. Tali had never learned the finer points on etiquette, and Avarielle vaguely remembered her mother being the same way.

"Trying to get my tan back," Ralera replied, also with her mouth full. Maybe it was a Dalish thing? Avarielle remembered that Ralera's skin had been darker whenever they'd found her passed out in the forest. Whenever they had gotten her back to the Dalish camp, the Keeper had removed her armor to check for injuries, and Avarielle had noticed that the tan was consistent beneath her armor. For a brief moment she wondered if she was tanned under her small clothes, too. Avarielle shook the thought out of her head as quickly as she had thought it; the _last_ thing she wanted to think about was Ralera naked!

"I just like how the sun feels on my skin," Ralera confessed, and Avarielle belatedly realized that her last comment had been a joke. She didn't think the Dalish girl was capable of humor.

"It must be hard to find a sunny enough place in the forest," Tali said thoughtfully.

"Not if you know the area well enough," Ralera said. "The real trick is finding time to get away from the clan, as well as making sure you're not discovered by curious da'len who've never seen a naked woman." Avarielle nearly choked on her bread. That certainly answered her question about the tan, but seriously, was Ralera even _trying_ to be subtle? She might as well have invited Tali to tan naked _with_ her! Avarielle hazarded a glance at Duncan, and she could see the slight disappointment that his request from the night before had seemingly gone unheeded.

"I bet the older boys like to look, too," Tali said with a giggle. Ralera suddenly seemed very interested in her bread as a light blush spread across her cheeks. Tali, for all intents and purposes, had just called Ralera attractive, and the Dalish girl seemed embarrassed about it. Avarielle took small joy in the knowledge that Ralera had seemingly no experience in flirting. Maybe she'll make a fool out of herself and give up.

"Ralera, would you spar with me?" Avarielle almost choked on her bread for the second time in as many minutes. At this rate, she might not live long enough to become a Grey Warden. Avarielle gazed at Ralera, praying that she say no. The Dalish girl seemed to consider it for a moment before giving a slight smirk.

"You probably couldn't keep up," she said, and Avarielle rolled her eyes. Again with the arrogance? Did the Dalish have superiority complexes or something? Tali stood up and smirked back, her whole posture oozing confidence.

"My mama taught me how to fight," she said, fingering Fang's hilt.

"And just who was your mother, that this would me something to me?" Ralera asked, as if she didn't already know. She probably thought she was clever, feigning ignorance.

"Her name was Adaia," Tali said, taking the bait. "Maybe you've heard of her?" Ralera's smirk grew as she put her bread down and stood up.

"I've heard of her," Ralera said nonchalantly. "If she really _was_ your mother, then maybe you've inherited her skill." With that Ralera drew her dagger from where it sat at the small of her back and lowered herself into a stance with the dagger reversed in front of her, and her other hand raised to chin level. "Who knows, you might even make me break a sweat."

Tali drew Fang and lowered herself in the same stance as Ralera. Avarielle watched in anticipation, torn between wanting to stop the fight and wanting to watch it. The half of her that was herself wanted to stop them; Avarielle hadn't seen Tali fight since they were children, and even then they hadn't been real fights, only practice fights against Adaia. But the half of her that was Valor saw this match as an opportunity to see what Tali could do. The spirit had been curious about Tali's skills ever since she claimed to have fought her way through the arl of Denerim's estate almost single-handedly. The two settled for a compromise; they'd watch the match, and if anything went wrong, Avarielle could jump in and stop them.

The two of them circled each other, slowly inching towards each other until their daggers nearly touched. They paused for a few, tense seconds, waiting each other out. Tali tapped her blade against Ralera's, and the Dalish girl took the bait. Ralera lashed out with her dagger, and Tali jumped back, narrowly avoiding getting cut across her face. The two traded blows, using their free hands to fake each other out. Ralera kept up the offensive, while Tali continuously retreated in any direction she could. Ralera was clearly the better fighter.

'_Is that so?'_ Valor asked, speaking as if he knew some scandalous secret. _'She's merely setting her opponent up. Any moment now, she'll turn the tables on Ralera.'_

As if by some unseen cue, Ralera flipped her blade and attempted to stab Tali, who parried the strike effortlessly. Spinning around the Dalish girl, Tali raised her free hand and smacked Ralera in the rear before dancing away. Ralera jumped from the unexpected attack, and the blush on her face was evident as she turned to face Tali, who smiled and curtsied.

'_She's toying with her!'_ Avarielle realized. But why a smack to the rear? And the way she smiled and curtsied seemed almost…flirtatious. _'Do you think she knows?'_

'_I doubt it,'_ Valor replied. _'More likely she was trying to unnerve Ralera. It's rather demoralizing to know that your opponent can not only outmatch you, but doesn't even have to take you seriously.'_

Avarielle didn't have time to consider the spirit's words, as the match was far from complete. Ralera seemed to realize that Tali was toying with her as well, and rather than getting upset or discouraged, the Dalish girl seemed interested. Ralera sheathed her dagger, and instead drew her twin swords. This made Avarielle nervous, but Tali only grinned as she retook her stance. Ralera walked up to Tali and took up a new stance with one sword pointed forward, and the other raised above her head. Tali tapped Fang against Ralera's sword, and then once again with a slight jerk of her body, but Ralera wasn't falling for it a second time. When this became clear to Tali, something in her posture changed, like a snake that had coiled up, and Avarielle realized that she was about to go on the offensive.

Batting Ralera's sword away, Tali took the offensive, and the fight began anew. With Ralera having stepped up her game, Tali had as well, and it became quickly clear that she was the faster of the two. However, she had to contend with both of Ralera's swords, which never stopped swinging for an instant. They were both evenly matched, and neither seemed to be able to best the other. Avarielle had expected this from someone like Ralera, but she never imagined that Tali would possess such skill. As far as Avarielle knew, Tali had never been in a fight before she was captured by Vaughn. How could she have honed her skills to such a degree, especially without Adaia to teach her?

'_Seven years is a long time to train,'_ Valor said. _'I believe we are _still_ not seeing Tali's full potential.'_

Tali suddenly began to press her attack, as if she'd seen some sort of opening. Valor seemed alarmed for some reason, and Avarielle saw what the spirit saw; a trap. With a flick of her wrist, Ralera slashed through Tali's leather gauntlet cut a deep gash within her right arm, causing her to drop Fang and scream in pain. Ralera dropped her own swords, a look of horror on her face, as if she didn't expect that to happen.

Avarielle jumped to her feet as she summoned stones to her fist and launched them at Ralera. The stone fist caught the Dalish warrior off guard and launched her several feet away. Avarielle grabbed her staff as she rushed to Tali's side, who was now on her knees, cradling her injured arm. Tali had tears in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hold back, and her arm was bleeding profusely. Movement from the corner of her eye alerted Avarielle to the fact that Ralera was back on her feet. Avarielle looked to find Ralera approaching with her dagger drawn and a murderous look in her eyes. Avarielle rose to her feet and pointing her staff at the Dalish warrior, channeling her mana into it until a glowing aura formed around it.

"_Stay away from her!_" Avarielle growled, and she thought she heard a faint echo to her voice as Valor began to rise. Off to her right, Duncan drew his own sword and pointed it at Ralera. This more than anything gave the Dalish girl reason to pause.

"Why did you do it, Ralera?" Duncan asked, his voice stern. Ralera glanced between Duncan, Avarielle, and Tali, looking as if she was trying to figure out how to explain something. Finally she raised her dagger and thrust it into her own stomach, surprising Avarielle enough that she dispelled the mana within her staff. What was even more surprising was that the dagger didn't cut her. Even as she pressed the tip of the blade into her skin, it drew no blood.

"Dalish armor is enchanted!" Ralera exclaimed, dragging her dagger across her stomach to emphasize what she was saying. "Tali's armor should have protected her!" Duncan seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Tali's armor belonged to Adaia," he finally said. "It's reasonable to believe that whatever enchantment was on it has faded." A pained whimper from behind her reminded Avarielle why they were having this stand-off to begin with. Avarielle put down her staff as she knelt down next to Tali and began to gently unbuckle the gauntlet on her arm. She removed it slowly, trying not injure her further. With the gauntlet finally removed, Avarielle summoned healing magic to her hand and held it over the wound, using her magic to determine the full extent of the injury. It as worse than she had thought; not only had Ralera cut through the leather and into flesh, but she had even managed to break one of the bones and sever an artery, which explained why Tali was bleeding so much.

'_I don't think I can heal this,'_ Avarielle thought, more to herself than anything.

'_Use some of my strength, if you must,'_ Valor said. Avarielle nodded and began pouring her mana into Tali's arm. The first thing she did was mend the severed artery and stop the wound from bleeding as much. Next she began working on knitting the flesh back together. Avarielle had expected to be running out of energy by this point, but more and more mana continued to flow through her. With it, she was even able to mend the broken bone and remove any trace of the injury. When Avarielle finished healing Tali's arm, Ralera knelt down next to them, a pained look on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked. The Dalish girl looked like she was on the verge of falling on her face and begging for forgiveness, which Avarielle felt was the _least_ she should do.

"Yeah," Tali said, flexing her arm to make sure it worked right. "Just a little embarrassed." At Ralera and Avarielle's confused looks, Tali gave a somewhat sheepish smile. "You're next attack would've been to my throat. Mama taught me that trick, and I fell for it." Ralera's eyes drifted over Tali's body, and Avarielle had a moment to mentally accuse her of being a pervert before the Dalish girl shook her head.

"Without the enchantment, that armor practically useless," she said. "If we went back to the clan, you could get a new set."

"I'm afraid we don't have time to go back," Duncan said. "You're condition grows worse with every passing day."

"And what is she supposed to do without a decent set of armor?" Ralera asked, seeming more concerned with Tali's well-being than her own.

"I'll be fine," Tali said. "I just have to be more careful." She then allowed herself another sheepish smile. "I kinda got cocky and let my guard down. It was sloppy of me." Avarielle considered the implications of that comment, and glanced at Ralera. Their eyes met, and for a moment they were thinking the same thing; Tali was holding back. Ralera hadn't been fighting with everything she had either, but she hadn't concerned about hurting Tali. What would've happened if they had fought for real? Perhaps Ralera would've been the one to get hurt? Avarielle had a feeling the Dalish girl was thinking the same thing.

"I think we've rested long enough," Duncan said. "We still have a ways to go before we reach Ostagar."

The girls collected their belongings, and Avarielle couldn't help but notice that Ralera was keeping her distance from Tali. Despite Tali's willingness to forgive the Dalish girl, Ralera herself didn't seem ready to forgive herself. Hopefully she'll keep her distance now that she's unwittingly harmed her crush.

"Avarielle, could I speak with you?" Duncan asked. He was standing off to the side, away from Tali and Ralera, which made Avarielle wonder if he wanted to speak with her about a private matter. Avarielle shouldered her pack and picked up her staff before making her way over to the Warden. "That was an impressive display of healing," Duncan said. "I've never seen anything like it outside of spirit healing, and yet you summoned no spirits. How did you do it?" Avarielle realized that Duncan had a point. It should have been impossible for her to heal Tali's arm as completely as she did, at least at once. Even Wynne, one of the senior enchanters from the Circle and an expert spirit healer, would've required more than one healing session to mend a broken bone.

"Just lucky, I guess," Avarielle said with a smile that probably looked as fake as it felt. She wondered if Duncan believed her any more than she believed herself.

"I see," Duncan said. If Duncan thought she was lying to him, then he did a good job of hiding it. "In that case, then maybe your luck goes beyond healing?" And with that Duncan turned to continue leading them to Ostagar.

'_You have _no_ idea,'_ Avarielle thought. Even thought the spirit had given permission for Avarielle to use his power, Avarielle had a feeling that she didn't really need it. By the limits of her own power, she shouldn't have been able to do more than mend the artery. And yet her power had continued to flow. Or had it been Valor's? Avarielle couldn't tell where her strength ended and where Valor's began. And with just a small portion of it, she had done what most senior enchanters from the Circle couldn't do.

And then there was Tali and Ralera. The two of them had held back, and yet they both demonstrated skill beyond what Avarielle had thought possible. What would the three of them be capable of if they gave it their all?

Would it be enough to stop the Blight?

* * *

_A.N./ And here we are! The next chapter will be in Ostagar. Then the fun will really begin._

_To Hikari86...beat the deadline. :P_


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